...or is the concept of prayer in school just more misdirection?

A good friend of mine in Florida (congratulations on the Katherine Harris nomination, dopes), barrages my email with right-wing tripe about many subjects near and dear to the hearts of neocons everywhere;

Immigration (send 'em all back)
Godlessness Democrats (hope they burn in hell)
Flag burning (they're again' it)

and the ever-popular, prayer in school.

Somewhere back in the dark days of the Warren Court (actually in 1962), a decision was handed down in Engel v Vitale to the effect that the State of New York, and by extension, all 50 states, could not compel the recitation of a prayer in public schools. The prayer went like this

"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country."

Now who could possibly object to that?

My interest at the time (I was 15) cleaved more toward my then recent discovery of girls (who knew?), so I am a poor chronicler of the public reaction at the time. I suspect it was negative. Billy Graham, Cardinal Spellman and Norman Vincent Peale all called for Earl Warren to be tried as a heretic and burned at the stake. Just another example of America going to hell in a handcart.

The court's decision was not unanimous and many of the arguments used by Mr. Justice Stewart in his dissent are still trumpeted today. He pointed out that the Supreme Court sessions begin with the invocation "God save the United States and this Honorable Court". The National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence and our National Motto all acknowledge America's dependence on a divine power. How then can we possibly deny our dear offspring the privilege of reciting the same thought that appears virtually everywhere else in our civic fabric?

Good question.

The response is two-fold.

One. If the neocons, religious-right, and talk show nutjobs were interested in anything but self-victimization and inflammatory rhetoric, they would come to realize that the decision in Engel did not prohibit prayer in public schools. The decision prohibits state-mandated prayer. This inconvenient truth doesn't give Sean Hannity or Pat Robertson much to scream about, but it's true. The facts can be so boring. You can pray in school, carry a bible, wear a "Jesus Saves" t-shirt. You just can't be compelled to do so.

Two. Why does this matter? No one can actually believe that a one-sentence prayer will turn the wicked from their evil ways. I'm guessing that the worst villains of history prayed in their evil classrooms before plotting the deaths of millions.

Besides, the folks who are the strongest supporters of God as a part of education are usually the people that carry Bibles in the shower and ensure that their children receive a daily dose of hell and damnation. Would one more prayer really make that much difference?

No, my children. This is just another smoke screen to demonize anyone that isn't in lock-step with the Christian right. Here's how it works. First you get some weak-willed high court judge to erect a statue of the ten commandments in the state court house. When someone objects that this is a religious icon and files suit to have it removed, bingo, God and religion are under attack by the godless left. You have controversy. Fox news arrives to document the statue being removed. Dr James (no fun) Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, will arrive to lament that this is just another example of how America is going to hell in a handcart. Democrats, whether they were involved or not, will be painted once again as, heathens, atheists, and pro homosexual. ( They always throw that in).

Listen up Rush:

Opposition to state-sponsored Christianity ,(let's call a spade a spade), does not make a person anti-God, anti-religion, or above all, anti-American.

Let's all take a deep breath and remember that we are a country of laws. How those laws are interpreted determines how we live. You may disagree with some decisions but to ascribe the evil intent of a godless conspiracy to those decisions is just foolishness.

We will close now with a prayer...