Words well spoken...Recieved in Email

[DrKym]

I found this a very Good read I have a question what if your son or daughter / grand kids / nephews and nieces were to just pray in a classroom quietly by themselves what would happen?
makes you wonder
would they be asked to leave class? but someone with a gun or knife stays.. sad
pray for our kids,,,,thanks everyone(not my intro this was email is reprinted in its' entirety)

DARRELL SCOTT TESTIMONY

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On
Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a
victim of the Columbine High School shootings in
Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the Ho
use Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said
to our national leaders during this special session of
Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was
it received well. It needs to be heard by every
parent, every teacher, every politician, every
sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called
expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott
are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There
is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying
in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the
transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &
evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain
the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The
death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and
the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other
eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their
blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew
his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not
the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the
National Club Association. The true kil ler was Cain,
and the reason for the murder could only be found in
Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I
was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed
at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the
NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am
not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I
don't believe that they are responsible for my
daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they
need to be defended. If I believed they had anything
to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest
opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just
a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be
forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much
of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame
lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers
themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that
expresses my feelings best. This was written way
before I knew I would be speaking here today:


Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist
of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to
acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a
void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush
in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present
within our educational
systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our
major colleges began as theological seminaries. This
is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a
nati on? We have refused to honor God, and in so
doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And
when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy
occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat
such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more
restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our
personal and private liberties. We do not need more
restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been
stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can
stop someone who spends months planning this type of
massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school
library and saw his two friends murder ed before his
very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I
defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I
challenge every young person in America , and around
the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999 , at
Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our
schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those
students be in vain. Dare to move into the new
millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation
that violates your God-given right to communicate with
Him. To those of you who would point your finger at
the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to
examine your
own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young
people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this
man's speech.. Please send this out to everyone you
can.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Prayer isn't banned in schools. The teacher can't TEACH religion in public schools, or lead a prayer, but students can pray if they want to....

I don't understand why people are against seperating church and state, I guess they are just too egocentric to understand that not everyone has the same belief system.

[JenBKR]

Beautiful! I loved it, thanks for sharing. It is sad when someone can't express their own feelings in this, a free country.

To those who think that prayer isn't banned in public schools, talk to some kids who have tried to pray to themselves in their school. You might be shocked by what they have to say. I know a few stories surprised me........

[Prairie Purrs]

There is no ban on individual prayer in public schools. There is nothing to prevent kids from saying grace before lunch, from seeking divine intervention on an algebra test, etc. A student who is prevented from praying has legal recourse--keeping in mind that schools have a right to prevent students from doing anything, including praying, in a disruptive manner.

For those who want to see state-sponsored prayer in public schools (for example, requiring all students to pray in unison at school assemblies), I'd ask, whose prayer should they be required to say? If you're Baptist, how would you feel if all public school students were required to say a Hail Mary at the beginning of the school day? What if a Buddhist principal implements mandatory zazen? A Christian parent has no more right to force my (hypothetical) kid to say a Christian prayer than I have to force that parent's kid to take part in a Samhain ritual.

The First Amendment's dual prohibition against government interference with individual practice of religion and government establishment of religion is a brilliant innovation. Too many people only see half of the equation and would happily overturn the Establishment Clause. One would think that examples such as Iran would clearly illustrate that theocracy is an undesirable form of government.

[lizbud]

I think everyone here whoever faced a tough math test in school didn't
stop class time to say a prayer to pass the test.They just did it. Prayer isn't
banned, but a public school teacher cannot lead a class in any one prayer.

I think it's simplistic to believe that prayers in school would change the
culture.

[wombat2u2004]

Got that one a day or so ago in my mail to.
It certainly does hit the mark....hey ???
Wom

[wombat2u2004]

WHAT A WAKEUP!

Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at ?.

Virginia Tech 04/16/07

Amish Country, PA

Wisconsin

Columbine High School

Moses Lake , Washington 2/2/96

Bethel , Alaska 2/19/97!

Pearl , Mississippi 10/1/97

West Paducah , Kentucky 12/1/97

Stam! p, 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

Littleton , Colorado 4/20/99

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

-----------------------------------------------------

Reply:

Dear Concerned Student:

I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,

God

----------------------------------------------------------

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..

------------------

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...

-----------------

Dr. Benjamin Spock said

we shouldn't spank our children

when they misbehaved

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..

------------------

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...

------------------

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...

------------------

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...

------------------

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....

------------------

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....

------------------

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 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, 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,"

------------------

[mugsy]

We have a moment of silence, to be used how ever the students want to use it, every morning and then we say the Pledge (now keep in mind that I have ONE student out of 24 that will say it and it's like pulling teeth to get them to even look at the flag (another rant for another time). I don't care how people use that time and if they have quiet time, do as you please with your mind. I only get angry when any group shoves their beliefs (or lack thereof) down my throat....and that's why I believe open prayer in school should not be allowed...we still have separation of church and state...

The other thing...everyone is so ready to jump on the schools for being responsibile for the shootings...what happened to the families?? At what point do families become responsible for what is happening? As a teacher, I can promise you that even in the last 12 years of me teaching with a contract, the students have changed. They have become lazier, less responsible for their actions, less caring about their fellow living beings, and far more expecting that society is supposed to take care of them and they don't need to do anything except have the government support them...where does that come from? All of those things are what cause these kids to do what they do in schools. Ok, I'll shut up now! lol

[sparks19]

I like that Wombat.

I had to take a Taxi home yesterday and I can't remember how we got on the subject but we were talking about kids these days.....

The cab driver said "Kids are born crazy..... it's the parents job to straighten them out." lol he was joking (sorta) but I like that Today they have taken all responsibility off of the parents.... off of anyone really. Your child is misbehaving? he must have a disorder of some kind.... it's not his fault he can't behave.... he needs to be pumped full of drugs to help him behave. NO HE NEEDS A SWIFT KICK IN THE BUTT to help him behave.

Just like kids can't play dodgeball and tag in school anymore because it's a game of exclusion and it singles out the weaker kids and their feelings get hurt and it's not fair..... WELL life isn't fair.... how does any of that prepare them for when they get into the real world and HAVE to face disappointment. and they wonder why kids suddenly snap when they are expected to be responsible for themselves when no one ever taught them to be responsible..... when they grew up with sunshine and puppies and no one ever lost and no one ever won and everyone was equal. Suddenly they are thrown into real life where someone DOES win and someone DOES lose and things aren't always fair and equal and hunky dorey. and I don't know about you.... but tag never made me feel like an outcast or feel excluded or hurt my feelings. it was a game.... sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but it's still fun. And that is not the schools fault that they aren't allowed to help prepare kids for life..... heck even parents aren't expected to do that anymore.

Can you even say the pledge of allegience in schools anymore?

"everything I need to know about life I learned in Kindergarten" That used to be true.... not anymore.


EDIT: Mugsy.... excellent post.

[finn's mom]

This is an interesting thread. I'll keep reading it as people keep posting. And, just as a side note, I hated games like tag and dodgeball, I always felt small and meek and left out. I was always the last person chosen. The main reason for it was because I am physically small and I was also always the youngest in my class. But, honestly, that is part of growing up. I think it's ridiculous that they completely banned those sports from schools. With the obesity in children today, I'd be adding more sports, not taking them out.

As for prayers in schools, I'm all for "moment of silence" to pray or not pray to whatever God(s) you choose.

[lizbud]

I'll keep reading it as people keep posting. And, just as a side note, I hated games like tag and dodgeball, I always felt small and meek and left out. I was always the last person chosen. The main reason for it was because I am physically small and I was also always the youngest in my class. But, honestly, that is part of growing up.

I loved those school yard games, probably because I was very good
at them.

[sparks19]

This is an interesting thread. I'll keep reading it as people keep posting. And, just as a side note, I hated games like tag and dodgeball, I always felt small and meek and left out. I was always the last person chosen. The main reason for it was because I am physically small and I was also always the youngest in my class. But, honestly, that is part of growing up. I think it's ridiculous that they completely banned those sports from schools. With the obesity in children today, I'd be adding more sports, not taking them out.

As for prayers in schools, I'm all for "moment of silence" to pray or not pray to whatever God(s) you choose.

Good point. While schools can't and shouldn't be blamed for obesity..... school might be the only time those kids get any exercise and won't just be sitting in front of the TV.

Seems funny how schools are doing the parents jobs..... getting the kids outside, schools offering lunches (when I was in elementary we didn't have a cafeteria.... your parents had to pack a lunch and if they didn't the school called to find out why you didn't have a lunch), and they have to be the disciplinarians.... and then it's the schools that get blamed for a childs behaviour.

[DrKym]

I really wasn't aiming this thread at schools, I was more moved by this mans humble and forgiving nature, and the fact that he refused to blame any one thing for the tradegy that befall him and many others. That he in a very inoffensive but very powerful way placed the blame on the shoulders of the families of the shooter, and the people we charge to value our children.

It is not the responsibility of our schools to raise our children, or to instill the values and morals we want to instill in them, although sadly this is often true for many children. It is our responsibility to be aware and to help one another to care and love our youth enough to become involved, even if it makes others uncomfortable. I as a parent would want to know if an adult that I have placed my childs education and welfare in their hands had observations or information , especially if it was of a nature that will be detrimental to my childs' mental or emotional health, or his safety. In that regards I do not believe my child has any "rights", I believe that as his parent, my rights to ensure his well being trump any he may or may not have.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

I think there are some parents who are too afraid to instil any discipline in their children at an early age which lets the little darlings think they can do and say exactly what they want.

This may be out of guilt because parents are working and try to make it up to junior by giving them a free rein or that some parents just don't have clue due to their own upbringing.

I'm not going to start calling for national service or corporal punishment but I do think the children should learn their place in society and learn to respect the adults around them and the rules they should be set. Their time will come.

My Katie is 17 and thoroughly spoilt but she knows the difference between right and wrong and has the self confidence not to follow the crowd

[Edwina's Secretary]

I really wasn't aiming this thread at schools, I was more moved by this mans humble and forgiving nature, and the fact that he refused to blame any one thing for the tradegy that befall him and many others. That he in a very inoffensive but very powerful way placed the blame on the shoulders of the families of the shooter, and the people we charge to value our children.

I saw nothing inoffenisve about it. To say "he refused to blame any one thing" is at best...disingenuous

He says...

it was a spiritual event that should be
forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much
of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame
lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers
themselves.

That sounds like blaming to me.

I look at the list of school shooting above and they all have one thing in common. GUNS...

Some insist that because the constitution says...A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms...there can be no restrictions on firearms...cop-killer bullets...rapid fire...automatics....

Yet...other rights...freedom from search and siezure...freedom of speech can be regulated and abridged.

The Supreme Court has ruled the government can regulate some speech...you cannot yell fire in a crowded theater.

What can't the government set limits on firearms in the same manner?

I would feel more safe knowing there were no semi-automatics in the school than knowing the teacher has lead all the children in reciting the Lord's prayer.