You Got Praying Hands (Or Is It Preying)

“I am a man who walks alone

And when I'm walking a dark road

At night or strolling through the park

When the light begins to change

I sometimes feel a little strange

A little anxious when it's dark.

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark

I have constant fear that something's always near

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark

I have a phobia that someone's always there”

--Harris of Iron Maiden from “Fear of the Dark,” 1992.


Before I begin this rant, I wanted to state that my parents raised us in a very Catholic environment when we were children. The following commentary should in no way reflect their upbringing of their children which adheres to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.

Nor should the following in any way name me as the next Anti-Christ.

All that said, Illinois has the STUPIDEST and most UNCONSTITUTIONAL act on the books. It is called “The Student Prayer And Silent Reflection Act.” Notice that title.

The “act” was supposed to be voluntary and then moved to mandatory this fall by a single legislator who wanted to basically guilt schools in Illinois to take up religious causes for what I would consider a hypocritical gesture. Kind of “holier-than-thou” type of thinking. I am not sure of all of the politics, but my understanding basically this mandatory sentence was due to the efforts of a legislator from a troubled Northern District of a strongly ethnically diverse population who was feeling pressure from some ministers in a reaction to various situations of urban plight.

How the act works is simple. The students are to recite the pledge, and then stand for a moment of silence. During that time, the act assumes the students will reflect on their lives or pray if they wish.

Nice world, I suppose, albeit not a real one.

Here is reality; my kids stare at the wall, look around, stare at the most attractive kid’s behind or whatever. One student I had said he tried to pray; but the vast majority do not. Nor do they reflect.

Yesterday, the last day of school, I was sent the following email: “Today, the judge in the moment of silence lawsuit entered a preliminary statewide injunction stopping the application of the law. The injunction prohibits all school districts in Illinois from conducting the mandatory moment of silence. State Superintendent Chris Koch has notified all districts that they should immediately cease enforcing the law.”

Ding Dong, the witch(hunt) is dead.

Now some might think I over-react; but this was complete crapola from its inception. Minister’s in a community who would rather not blame parents and community members for their troubles decide to pray them away. Find and dandy, but at some point, do not impose that belief system on me.

Do not make a public institution break the constitutional precedent of separation of church and state.

And for the government personnel in the state of Illinois, do not hide behind a Bible in your act of appearing kind or pious.

We are a society of laws and all of our rights need to be protected: even those whose beliefs we may disagree with from time to time. The mere fact that the word “prayer” was included in the title shows a lack of regard for a group of individuals. Hopefully those in power saw the exclusiveness of the act.

Either that or they recognized it for the bullshit it is.

Good day and God Bless.