Youth of Tyrone

Yes, Jefferson did say that, but as you have said, what followed was a personal interpretation..
Our country was based on Christian principles...This is very evident in the thoughts and writings and opinions of many of our founding fathers..
It was just recently, in the sixties i believe, when we first came under assault from those that would weaken our beliefs and morals..
School was the place that taught us, sometimes the only exposure some kids had to that value system..
The A.C.L.U and many other Secular organizations have been pushing for the removal of God from the public scene since then.
If they can become successful in this, and they've done a d*mn good job so far, then they can move forward with their secular agenda.
Those people that avow that they know what Jefferson meant with his statement seem to have been endowed with the ability to read minds. Which, in this case is all the more remarkable since Thomas has been gone for quite some time..
If enough people say something long and loud enough then the masses usually end up taking it for granted, and set it in granite.
I have found in my lifetime that most people are just not inclined to spend the necessary time and effort to become knowledgeable about any subject unless it affects them personally.
So, as usual.. the few lead the rest of us around by our collective noses.

I agree with your assertion that our/your children should be schooled on just those subjects, although i also had God as a daily companion in and throughout my school years, and don't believe it has ever affected me in a negative manner. But, i do know that sense of values that it did instill in me has served me well throughout my life..
Ah, back to the subjects that you mentioned are important to you, Banksy..I wonder if you are aware of the growing movement to either suspend History altogether in our public school system, or to leave out facts, historical proven facts, because they do not want to "Offend" anyone.
So, you must remain vigilant to make sure that your children are getting the education that you expect.
Although, given your choice of schools, i think your fears will be assuaged there.

I am saddened by the growing secular movement here in America..I can see no good that has ever come of it..
France is one prime example..
The Dutch have ruined their society with their "freedoms"

Sexual disease is rampant and drug addiction is many times over more than it was twenty years ago..
When there are no standards , when there is no right or wrong, when there are no boundaries save those that you impose on yourself, then havoc will reign....
Religion gives our young people a set of values that will serve them well all their days.. It gives structure, it gives them refuge in times of pain and trouble.
I know in the darkest , saddest moments of my life, loss of my parents and brother, I would have been more desolate than i was...
And, it gives us all hope that tomorrow or when we leave this life, there is the real possibility that there is something beyond what we know now.. That there is the chance that another life comes after this on, one free of pain and sorrow.
Sheesh, looking at this, I'm starting to sound like a preacher myself, and i don't want that job..


Anyway..take care and good stuff, as I always say, so eloquently..

Leep out:

banksy wrote:

It doesn't exist, but it is in the Establishment Clause of the F irst Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by legal precedents interpreting that clause. The Establishment Clause states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

The "separation of Church and State" is purely a tought of Thomas Jefferson. Peparationists say Jefferson's statement proves that the original intent of the First Amendment was complete separation of church and state, while anti-separationists either consider it irrelevant or might say that it supports the idea that the original intention of the First Amendment was to guarantee religion the freedom to exist without government influence.

It is all interpretation, you interprete your way, I'll interpret it my way. I myself feel that my child should be educated in school on science, math, english, etc. If I wanted a specific religion to be taught, I would send him to a private school. Don't read into this, my son will be going to a Catholic School, not a public school.

I just wanted to let everyone know that SYATP did happen again this year at the Tyrone High School. It had a good turn out once again. I think we should encourage anything positive that the youth in this community are doing. There is not much of any oppurtunity for them to do "good" things.

Good points,

Freedom of speech and Religion. Just leave the guns and bombs at home.
If learned one thing during my short tour in the Middle East is that I will not live in a theocracy!

The Red Sox live in a Theocracy. Think about it.

Forgive my obtuseness..

Please explain what I am missing in your analogy.. (and please forgive my cut and paste)

An objective explanation of what a theocracy is or in what sense that term is used has to deal with two very different approaches.

* For believers in a religion whose institutions have been more or less equated with the state's institutions in a theocracy, a theocracy is a form of government in which the divine power (in monotheisms the one God) governs an earthly human state, either in person (e.g. as incarnation in a human) or, more often, via its religious institutional representative(s) (e.g. church, temple), either replacing or dominating the organs of civil government as clerical or spiritual representative(s) of god(s). [1]
* Most modern descriptive dictionaries explain that the word is used in most carefully edited texts in English to mean either government by immediate divine guidance (close to the usage described above) or, more commonly, as government by or subject to religious institutions and priests (or a state ruled in this way). In other words, for people who do not believe in a theocracy's religion (or feel that its religious institutions do not represent the religion well), a theocracy is a form of Gleichschaltung that purports to fulfill a divine intention but (since they do not believe in the existence of anything divine or believe this religion is heretical) instead simply fulfills the goals of the ruling priests.

Leep Out:

Uh? yup, thats what I ment.