(no subject)
I read this, and then I responded.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978036896&grpId=3659174697241980
This entire editorial is built upon a faulty premise. Prayer has not been banished from public school. If a child wishes to bow his or her head in prayer at any time, he or she is free to do just that.
Barb Fitzgerald-Malone is calling for the government to assume responsibility for the religious education and indoctrination of the children of the Untied States of America. She justifies this by directing our attention to a random list of so-called evils that have transpired since 1963. Barb Fitzgerald-Malone fails to show any correlation, either direct or indirect, between the Supreme Court ruling that no locality may require recitation of Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools and any of the events that she directs our attention toward.
Let’s take a closer look at one of her fallacious results of the Supreme Court ruling. She writes, “Since the Supreme Court ruled 'prayer in school unconstitutional' in 1963, America witnessed the assassinations of three great leaders, John and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.” She could have just as easily written, “Since the first transatlantic television transmission occurred via the Telstar Satellite in 1962, America witnessed the assassinations of three great leaders, John and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.” Neither statement can be supported. There is absolutely no evidence to support any sort of correlation between the supreme court ruling and the Telstar satellite and the assassinations of President Kennedy and Doctor Martin Luther King. To suggest that there is a connection is ridiculous.
Some of the things that Barb Fitzgerald-Malone considers evil are puzzling. “Violent protests of the Vietnam War escalated as the decade of the 1960's came to the close. Men burned their draft cards; women burned their bras.” Protesting a war is not evil. Taking a stand on sexual equality is not evil, either.
Regardless, I think my position is clear. Children can and do pray in public in schools. This is acceptable. The government is not teaching our children a state mandated religion. This, too, is acceptable. Events have transpired since the 1963 Supreme Court ruling, both positive and negative. The attempt to lay the blame for all of the negative events on the head of Madalyn Murray O'Hair is not supported by any empirical evidence. Not all of us agree with Barb Fitzgerald-Malone's definition of evil.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978036896&grpId=3659174697241980
This entire editorial is built upon a faulty premise. Prayer has not been banished from public school. If a child wishes to bow his or her head in prayer at any time, he or she is free to do just that.
Barb Fitzgerald-Malone is calling for the government to assume responsibility for the religious education and indoctrination of the children of the Untied States of America. She justifies this by directing our attention to a random list of so-called evils that have transpired since 1963. Barb Fitzgerald-Malone fails to show any correlation, either direct or indirect, between the Supreme Court ruling that no locality may require recitation of Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools and any of the events that she directs our attention toward.
Let’s take a closer look at one of her fallacious results of the Supreme Court ruling. She writes, “Since the Supreme Court ruled 'prayer in school unconstitutional' in 1963, America witnessed the assassinations of three great leaders, John and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.” She could have just as easily written, “Since the first transatlantic television transmission occurred via the Telstar Satellite in 1962, America witnessed the assassinations of three great leaders, John and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.” Neither statement can be supported. There is absolutely no evidence to support any sort of correlation between the supreme court ruling and the Telstar satellite and the assassinations of President Kennedy and Doctor Martin Luther King. To suggest that there is a connection is ridiculous.
Some of the things that Barb Fitzgerald-Malone considers evil are puzzling. “Violent protests of the Vietnam War escalated as the decade of the 1960's came to the close. Men burned their draft cards; women burned their bras.” Protesting a war is not evil. Taking a stand on sexual equality is not evil, either.
Regardless, I think my position is clear. Children can and do pray in public in schools. This is acceptable. The government is not teaching our children a state mandated religion. This, too, is acceptable. Events have transpired since the 1963 Supreme Court ruling, both positive and negative. The attempt to lay the blame for all of the negative events on the head of Madalyn Murray O'Hair is not supported by any empirical evidence. Not all of us agree with Barb Fitzgerald-Malone's definition of evil.