This is an e-mail I received from someone (I'm not gonna name any names) just a few minutes ago. Read thru the whole thing first, then I've got my responses afterward.
Enjoy.
WOW, WHAT A WAKEUP
Dear God:
Why didn't you save the school children at ?. .
Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96
Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamps, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98
Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee, California 3/5/01 and
El Cajon, California 3/22/01?
Sincerely,
Concerned Student
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Reply:
Dear Concerned Student:
I am not allowed in schools.
Sincerely,
God
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How did this get started?...
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Let's see, I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools.
And we said, OK.
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Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school, the Bible that says "thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbors as yourself,"
And we said, OK.
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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.
And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we won't spank them anymore..
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Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And 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.
And we accepted their reasoning...
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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, that's a grand idea...
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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, that's another great idea...
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Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs.
And we said, it doesn't m atter what anybody, including the President, does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good...
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And someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then stepped further still by making them available on the Internet.
And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech....
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And the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex... And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide , and satanic themes...
And we said, it's just entertainment and it has no adverse effect and nobody tak es it seriously anyway, so go right ahead...
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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, classmates or even themselves.
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Undoubtedly, if we thought about it long and hard enough, we could figure it out. I'm sure it has a great deal to do with...
"WE REAP WHAT WE SOW,"
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Pass it on if you think it has merit! If not then just discard it.
Okay. Now it's my turn.
How did this get started?...
Let's see, I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools.
And we said, OK.
Gee, I think it all started back in the founding of our country. I'm sure most of you remember fifth grade history when they taught us that the pilgrims left England to seek out a new land. And I'm sure also that most of you remember that one of the reasons they fled was religious persecution. Our country has been based on the idea of freedom in all ways, and that includes religious freedom. If you want kids to pray in school, then make sure they all pray . . . and then they can all face Mecca and pray, and during the vernal equinox they can dance around the May pole and pray, and maybe slaughter a goat and pray, but make sure they can go to the cafeteria and eat a kosher meal afterwards.
If you're gonna combine religion with school, then you better make damn sure you include the hundreds of other religions and practices in the world. I will say this just once: Chrisianity isn't the only religion. Get it? If you took the time in school to recognize and respect everyon's beliefs, no one would learn anything else during the day. Include all or include none. You want your kid to pray in school, put 'em in private school. They love that shit there.
Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school, the Bible that says "thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbors as yourself,"
And we said, OK.
This is also the Bible that says you have to destroy every stick of furniture a menstruating woman sits on. That book says a lot of things.
Look, no one is suggesting a person can't read the Bible in their own time at school. Only that it's not considered a text book. Unruffle your feathers a little and chill out.
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.
And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we won't spank them anymore..
That's one man with an opinion. And there are plenty of parents still out there who spank their kids. There are plenty of folks who spank their kids, beat their kids, and dunk their kids in pots of boiling water. Doesn't mean that type of parenting is for everyone, though.
Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And 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.
And we accepted their reasoning...
No one has the right to hit a child other than his/her parent. If the parent gives permission to someone, then that person is allowed to hit that child. And you know what, there are plenty of ways for school administrators to enforce discipline without violence.
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, that's a grand idea...
What do abortions have to do with school shootings? The powers that be decided to allow abortions without parental permission for damn good reason. Let's say the girl's father or step-father rapes her. She gets pregnant. How dare you to presume you have the right to tell her how to handle that situation. Let's say the parents are abusive to the girl. You think she would want to tell them she got pregnant, risk getting herself seriously harmed?
There are reasons for things like this that go way beyond the narrow scope of religios morality. All you have to do is think and it's easy to come up with a few.
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, that's another great idea...
If certain parents weren't so fucking afraid to talk to their own children about sex, then maybe we could all help stem the uprise in teen pregnancy and STD contraction. But sex makes some people uncomfortable, so they leave it up to educators (complete strangers, quite literally) to do it for them. And since educators aren't parents, the best they can do is try to make sure teens are being safe while they're having sex.
Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs.
And we said, it doesn't matter what anybody, including the President, does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good...
I know I don't want the whole world to know about that time in college . . . Wait, nevermind.
People are allowed to have secrets. And yeah if no one is harmed by another's personal, private actions then what business is it of yours to know what goes on behind those closed doors?
And someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then stepped further still by making them available on the Internet.
And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech....
That is the dumbest thing I think I've ever read in my entire life.
I'm sorry. I thought pedophilia was illegal. Did I miss a memo?
Law enforcement agents work tirelessly to track down and catch pederasts, especially those on the internet. I mean, this still happens, right? We didn't wake up yesterday and say, "What the hell? Pictures of naked kids and sex with kids is just an expression of free speech. We should really calm down about this whole internet thing."
And the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex... And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide , and satanic themes...
And we said, it's just entertainment and it has no adverse effect and nobody tak es it seriously anyway, so go right ahead...
If violence in the entertainment industry is the problem, could somebody tell me what video game it was that Charles Manson was playing when he told his followers to go out and "kill all pigs"? And what about the TV show that Jeffrey Dalmer was watching when he decided to kill, dismember, and eat those young men? Or maybe the rap song that Hitler loved so much that he played for all the Hilter Youth that made them want to ethnically cleanse Germany all those years ago?
The entertainment industry isn't to blame here. It's just another handy scapegoat for irresponsible parents because they realize they're doing their job poorly. The lack of accountability in that statement is astonishing.
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, classmates or even themselves.
Undoubtedly, if we thought about it long and hard enough, we could figure it out. I'm sure it has a great deal to do with...
"WE REAP WHAT WE SOW,"
We sure do. And what we've sown is an entire generation of children who've watched their parents expertly pass the buck and refuse to claim responsibilty for their own actions.
They've learned that you can sue someone for the slightest thing that makes you unhappy. They've learned that their parents are too busy to sit down and talk to them like people. They've learned that as long as you have a whipping boy to take the fall, you can pretty much do whatever you damn well please. They've also learned that diversity is unnatural, thinking leads to trouble, and the last person in the world they should trust is an adult.
So yes, we reap what we sow. That is the only thing in this entire e-mail I agree with.
~Holls
As always, you can send your own comments and rants about anything you want. Just e-mail them to me at holly@hollyriddle.com
