A guest at one of the high school graduation ceremonies in Ouachita Parish has contacted the Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union to complain about religious activities at a public event, Executive Director Joe Cook said Thursday….
Following a direction by the Ouachita Parish School system, seniors at the six high schools in the parish voted to determine whether prayer would be a part of each graduation ceremony. All six schools voted to have prayer led by a student. The vote for prayer was unanimous by the students at Ouachita Parish High School….
Cook said that according to what’s been reported, at least one of the graduations in Ouachita Parish was “like a prayer meeting with the Lord’s Prayer and Amen
Source
Isn’t the graduation suppose to be for the seniors who are graduating? If they vote unanimous to have a prayer then shouldn’t it be their right to do so? How can a prayer offend someone? No matter what religion, a prayer is a prayer and people need to stop getting their panties in a bunch when one is said. Just because you are in the room when one is said does not mean you are accepting that religion, just because you don’t scream to the Heavens how wrong their religion is doesn’t mean you agree with them. Just shut your month and show some respect and stop getting so damn offended over everything.
This is the same thing with homosexuals. I am not going to lie, I think homosexuality is a sin cause well I’m a Christian and it says so right in the Bible. But so is lusting, lying, things that all humans do. Do I think they are going to hell for being gay? No. Do I care if they are gay? No. It’s not my life as long as they don’t push their beliefs unto me then I couldn’t care less. Does it sicken me to see to people of the same sex kiss or hold hands? No. But I also believe that if you are gay and want people to accept you then you need to accept the fact that some people are not going to agree with you. Just because they tolerate it doesn’t mean they are going to agree with you.
Mr. Garrison from South Park said it best when he said.
Tolerant, but not stupid! Look, just because you have to tolerate something doesn’t mean you have to approve of it! …”Tolerate” means you’re just putting up with it! You tolerate a crying child sitting next to you on the airplane or, or you tolerate a bad cold. It can still piss you off!
4 Comments
Ally
May 21, 2007 at 6:55 pmI don’t think it’s “that big of a deal”. I had to sit through one at my graduation ceremony, and wasn’t personally offended by it being an agnostic. I do think it’s a bit exclusionary to say that a Christian prayer should suffice (as many schools do these days), and I wish there were more diversity if it’s going to be offered… or even a moment of silence as is done in a regular school day. But, I’m not going to get upset if I have to sit through a prayer – heck, I do that every time I have dinner at my grandparents house… it’s hardly that offensive.
Ally
May 21, 2007 at 7:02 pmAlso, don’t fall into the trap that the ACLU is against prayer or religion.. they’re there for everyone….
http://www.aclufightsforchristians.com/
Leesha
May 21, 2007 at 10:59 pmAgreed, again and again.
I have a very good friend that’s gay and she and I were talking about this today. Too many people run around spreading hate and I really believe that’s why the world is in the shape it’s in today.
Helen
May 22, 2007 at 12:01 pmI always thought the word “tolerate” was kind of off. Your last quote from South Park said it loud and clear. I think the word should be changed to “acceptance” instead of “tolerance.” Tolerating something is only slightly better than bitching about it. Accepting something and how people choose to live their lives is more beautiful, I think, than just merely “tolerating” it.
I agree with you — we all have our differences. I don’t like prayers at graduation and I think it’s a rather silly little arcane and contrive thing to do, but hey, if everyone voted for it, then I can sit through the 5 minutes it takes. I would have to accept it. It’s not going to kill me. I’ve wasted more time than that doing other things I shouldn’t be doing. Heh.