
.ili.   Devil Shat Six   .ili. 
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This is Devil Shat Six released on 08/01/97. Devil Shat is published by disobey and is protected under all copyright laws. All of the issues are archived at the Disobey website: http://www.disobey.com

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.ili. Contents .ili.
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Prayer in School? (by Morbus)
Pledge in School? (by Morbus)

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.ili. Prayer in School? .ili.
------------------------------ by Morbus

I received a story from a reader down in Florida concerning religion in one of his schools. Apparently in Niceville, Florida, an administrator and a teacher had taken it upon themselves to convert their school to Christianity. The teacher would preach, while the administrator would baptize students... all under the guise of a school club/organization. 

But it didn't stop there. On Friday nights, they would hold a "revival" in which kids would go and get "saved". Supposedly, kids would shake from the holy spirit for a week afterward... The reader goes on to say that it might have been the "cool" thing to do.

Now, whether this account is as true as related doesn't really matter. I can see it happening in any town. But it does bring up an important issue: religion in school. Or more specifically... prayer in school.

Does it really matter? Why do people make a big fuss over something as silly as religion? I have read papers from restaurants in which it prohibits people from having a beard UNLESS it is a documented religious law/rule/whatever. So, say I get a beard cos my religion says I can, wouldn't that single me out from all the other workers? Would other employees hold hostility toward me cos I'm one of "them people"? Is this favoring certain religions?

Now take it to school. If your religion says you should pray at 10:00 each day, but you're in school then you're outta luck. They have no pity for you. If we look at the working environment though (supposedly another religion free institution) we see that they do cater to religion. Can school be further behind?

But like, I asked before: Does it really matter? Who the hell cares? If someone wants to say their little prayer, send them out of the room, and let them do it in the hallway, along with all the other prayers. That way the halls can fill with spirituality and the children will feel better.

And hey, maybe those bad-ass kids who go and "pray" just so they can get out of class can see the beauty of "God". 

Heh.

Oh yeah. The administrator got "a five day suspension without pay and one year probation". The teacher got "a three day suspension without pay."

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.ili. Pledge in School? .ili.
------------------------------ by Morbus

Firstly, I must say that I used to have a big problem with following directions at school and would never speak the pledge in school for some forgotten reason. So  I was not subjected to the mindless teachings of the pledge and then what soon became the mindless reciting of it also. I think students say the pledge out of habit and not really listening to what they are saying. I am saying that I can look at the invocation of the pledge and speak about it unbiased.

I can guess that more than 50% of the people in any school (religious removed) do not realize what they are saying in the mornings and that they are just doing it out of habit and because... hey! everyone else is doing it. I am also saying that when kids say the pledge they are participating in a religious act.

No, really... hear me out.

Let's compare. We start in church on a nice Sunday morning and go up to the Holy Buddha of Jerusalem or whatever and while holding a rosary pray that we hope we'll be healthy and that will never fall under the ways of evil or corruption or the people who aren't in our religion.

Now, let's start in school. We stand up at the beginning of the day, place our hands over our hearts and then salute the flag, all the while reciting a verse and looking at the flag as our heart beats beneath our palm.

For those who you who don't get it, I am saying that what we do in the morning is the same as praying in the church. The flag becomes our Holy Buddha of Zimbabwe and the prayer becomes the chant to the flag. Our hands over our heart become the rosary and the comparison becomes clear.

We've been praying mindlessly all these years to a piece of cloth. For those of you who still argue though, what about the "one nation under God" bit? Does that clinch the cake? Praying that we will pledge the allegiance to the flag and to the United States and doing it under the name of God. 

And also, where did all this about being unpatriotic by not saying the pledge come in? The flag is the symbol of America but so is baseball (which we're slowly losing ANYWAY) and outdoor cooking but we don't pledge to those. The koala might be a symbol of Australia, but hey, they don't say prayers to "The Great Fuzzy"!.

Does it really matter about prayer in school anymore? We have it already. It's called the Pledge of Allegiance.

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