TAKE A CLOSE LOOK

When I was young, public schools were a safe place to spend the day and the worst thing we had to worry about was getting caught chewing gum!  

Each morning before we started class, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  Throughout the year, we studied about our American heritage, we honored the American flag and we understood what it meant to be,"One Nation Under God"!  

Each day we bowed our heads in prayer and the teacher offered a simple message of faith and hope.  In high school, an entire year was dedicated to the study of American history.  We learned about The Constitution, we memorized the Preamble and studied the Bill of Rights.  

It was a blessing to be raised in a country that believed in equal rights and freedom for all, with the complete knowledge that great men and women risked their lives to provide these privileges. Things have change so drastically in the past thirty years, that the world in which we live is hardly recognizable!  

How could we have slipped so far from the principles that lifted our nation out of the dust and into a coveted people?  Maybe it's time to take a closer look at who we have become and what we truly believe.

NEW School Prayer.

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen  (unknown author)

Once there was a time when honor and respect meant something special, but we have become an apathetic society. "When people refuse to do nothing, eventually they lose the courage and ability to do anything!"  It makes me ill knowing that our children and grandchildren will inherit the mess we tolerate in this country!  We allow our government to do things that our parents taught us were unacceptable (spending money we don't have, making promises that are not kept, hiding behind the real issues, etc.)!  We are becoming shackled, one chain at a time by our lack of responsibility as an American. 

By, Linda Sumner Urza, One fine day.