The Soapbox: Rants and Commentary: "Are You Thinking?" Yes I Am By Dan O'Leary(dano@cybercomm.net) June 2003 The following was a response to a multi-forwarded e-mail I recently recieved from a family member. I usually let things like this go by, but when someone claims that tragedies like the 9/11 WTC and horrors like child porn are allowed to occur because we don't publicly endorse God in this country, I have to respond. And, well, I haven't added a rant here in a while anyway. You may have seen this in your Inbox already. If you have, skip to the responses. Otherwise, here it is. Assume "[sic]" where appropriate. And we said O.K. In light of the many perversions and jokes we send along to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This joke today is not intended to be a joke, it's not intended to be funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11 ). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. (There's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.). And we said OK. Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said OK. Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said OK. Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. Agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good. Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet. And we said OK, they're entitled to free speech. Then the entertainment industry said, "let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. Let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes." And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in! Are you thinking? THE RESPONSE   I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Religion in schools isn't a new topic. The Founding Fathers planned for Separation of Church and State over 225 years ago. And that's all churches, not just Catholic ones. (The Founding Fathers were Protestants.) Not every American practices the Judeo-Christian theology. I was incensed when people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "blamed" the 9/11 attacks on our lack of faith, and then tried to use the deaths of those innocents as a platform to promote prayer in school. I'm pretty sure these are the hypocrites Jesus speaks to when He offers them to cast the first stone.   Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. The ideals of the Commandments have never been a reason to keep the Bible out of schools. There are countless religions on this planet, and not all of their followers read the Bible. Do we want children to be forced to read the Koran or quote the Buddah? Same thing.   Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. The problem isn't spanking, the problem is in the fact that too many parents haven't a clue how to discipline children, or even how to be a responsible parent. Undisciplined, uneducated kids become dysfunctional, stupid adults, who go on to spawn more copies of themselves.   Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. (There's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.). And we said OK. Do we really want to go back to the nuns smacking kids on their hands and backsides? Teachers can discipline without touching, and they've got a perfectly rational fear of being sued. Some adult who won't teach behavior to his kid at home will be the first one in court (looking for a nice payday) when the kid announces the Homeroom teacher touched him. Respect, education, and manners start at home with the parents, some of whom expect teachers to do their jobs too. (See above about dysfunctional, stupid adults.)   Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said OK. As opposed to letting children have more children. Some young mothers can't support themselves, much less an infant. I'm against abortion, but it's not my body to choose, and I certainly don't want more animals populating the earth (again, see above).   Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said OK. "Boys will be boys?" Unless they're all engaging in gay sex acts, there's probably at least one female involved. Condoms in school is a stupid idea, but someone's got to figure out a way to make teens sexually responsible. Their parents sure aren't.   Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. Agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good. It doesn't matter if the president goes to bed dressed in a Batman suit and swings from the chandeliers if he does his job correctly. I think he's a sleaze, but that's irrelevant. When it impacts his job, then it's a BIG problem.   Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. Who ever said this? And which magazines are we talking about? If it's Penthouse, that's absurd. How about one on Renaissance artwork? (The writer of this piece probably gets offended by "Venus di Milo" anyway, not to mention Botticelli's nudes.)   And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet. And we said OK, they're entitled to free speech. Child porn has NEVER been legal and is NEVER considered free speech. That's why the FBI is constantly busting people who download, create, and spread this filth.   Then the entertainment industry said, "let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. Let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes." And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead. There are two murders and two suicides in "Romeo and Juliet." There are five murders in "MacBeth." Moussorgsky's classical "Night on Bald Mountain" is about a gathering of demonic creatures. When Stravinsky's classical "Rites of Spring" (about sex) debuted in Paris, the audience rioted because it was "too explicit." Braham Stoker's book "Dracula" was a huge hit with women a century ago because of its overt sexuality. Those themes have been with us forever. Yes, they're more graphic than ever, but many modern people lazily consume whatever Hollywood spoon-feeds them, or too stupid to separate it from reality.   Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. We sure can: we don't care about them. God (whatever one someone chooses to worship) and morals have to start at home, and we have to support that education when the kids get to school. Teachers and TV aren't babysitters, and school should be a completely neutral isolated place to learn. We have politicians cutting strained school budgets, and corporations sneaking in to class to teach about the gods of materialism and consumerism. (Ask Mike & Christine about "Channel One" at Central or do a search online...be prepared for a chill when you see what your granddaughter will exposed to at school next year.)   I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Take a look at the latest bumper crop of parents...I agree. I would never have become the mature, rational, morally straight person I am today if my parents didn't give me that foundation on which to build. They taught me to read, to be respectful, and to be mindful of others. You showed me the ways of God, the importance of an education, and to be a responsible adult. And being lucky enough to have a good education only reinforced those early lessons.   Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. It's not suppressed. It's just not forced on people. There are many other countries that force a religion or strict moral code on people. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran come to mind.   Are you laughing? No, I'm sad about e-mails like this.   Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. Why would anyone take a demeaning guilt-inducing tone to take with someone you're trying to endear to a cause? The writer obviously thinks she proved a point (she didn't) and is taking a morally superior air with the reader. Not exactly a very Christian thing to do, eh? Sorry, this message really bugged me, and I couldn't "just discard it" ... I took action, just like she wanted. Response from Skudo85@aol.com: Okay, I understand that this is supposed to have a deeper, more significant meaning, and that by not forwarding it I am going to Hell (of course), but what makes me angry is that the facts aren't even true. For one, Dr. Spock's son never killed himself. I doubt Madeleine Murray O'Hare's supposed "murder," but lack the research to back that up. And I find it funny that God would want us to sit on our asses and send forwards to people in hopes of converting them, instead of doing some good deeds/helping people. Whoever wrote this was just a bigotted "Jesus - is - my - one - and - only - should - be - yours - too - or - else - you - are - going - to - hell - and - going - to - make - me - make - up - stupid - forwards - with - false - facts - to - try - and - brainwaish - you - SAVIOR!" Christian. Well, Mr/Ms Holier-Than-Thou, next time before you try and write any kind of meaningful message to get people to "think," try looking up the facts first. -Justin Back To Rants and Commentary

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