So we’re hanging out this past weekend at the Social Conservative BBQ and most of the gang is there: the gun “enthusiasts”, the fiscal conservatives, the neos, the comp-cons, the South Parkers and even a few libertarians came straggling in later…. without any food or drink. They're always doing that. Anyway, everything was going along swimmingly when someone, can’t remember who, rolled the school prayer grenade out on to the table. Uh-oh. No one said a word – just wary eyes cast about the backyard. Well, we couldn’t resist – we jumped on it and yeah… 10 minutes later we’re banished to the basement to play beer-pong with the South Parkers.
So, what’s with that:
Our opposition to school prayer turns the usual argument against school prayer on its head and, as such, is perfectly consistent with our conservative philosophy. What you usually hear from school prayer opponents is that they don’t want the Church/organized religion interfering or influencing affairs of the state. “Theocracy!”, they cry as they trot out the well-worn but dubiously-applied “separation of church and state” mantra.
Alternately, though, our fear is that of the state meddling in the affairs of organized religion in this country.
You all know how this would work and it wouldn’t be pretty. If school prayer was ever allowed you would need of course, a blue ribbon panel or task force to craft the prayer language. Of course, this task force would have to be comprised of Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, etc., etc… basically any religious or non-religious faction under the sun to ensure no offending language would find its way into the “prayer”.
And of course, exercising all due diligence to ensure that this wouldn’t happen, this task force would produce a prayer that is so weak, so limp, so flaccid, so utterly meaningless, irrelevant and void of content that the only entity that would be offended is the Almighty himself. And that is something we don’t think even our Social Conservative lodge brothers want on their hands.
P.S. Having said all that, disciplining the high school valedictorian, for example, for invoking the name of God at the high school graduation speech is petty, narrow-minded, demonstrable of cowardice and quite possibly bigoted.
So, what’s with that:
Our opposition to school prayer turns the usual argument against school prayer on its head and, as such, is perfectly consistent with our conservative philosophy. What you usually hear from school prayer opponents is that they don’t want the Church/organized religion interfering or influencing affairs of the state. “Theocracy!”, they cry as they trot out the well-worn but dubiously-applied “separation of church and state” mantra.
Alternately, though, our fear is that of the state meddling in the affairs of organized religion in this country.
You all know how this would work and it wouldn’t be pretty. If school prayer was ever allowed you would need of course, a blue ribbon panel or task force to craft the prayer language. Of course, this task force would have to be comprised of Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, etc., etc… basically any religious or non-religious faction under the sun to ensure no offending language would find its way into the “prayer”.
And of course, exercising all due diligence to ensure that this wouldn’t happen, this task force would produce a prayer that is so weak, so limp, so flaccid, so utterly meaningless, irrelevant and void of content that the only entity that would be offended is the Almighty himself. And that is something we don’t think even our Social Conservative lodge brothers want on their hands.
P.S. Having said all that, disciplining the high school valedictorian, for example, for invoking the name of God at the high school graduation speech is petty, narrow-minded, demonstrable of cowardice and quite possibly bigoted.
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