Heavy On My Mind

Let me start off by saying I do not claim any one type of religion as my own. I do believe there is something greater than ourselves out there and when you get to the bottom of it all, most religions have the message of having love, peace, and harmony, as well as being a humanitarian among mankind.  I have been VERY fortunate to meet people of different faiths/ethnicity and learn about their beliefs and customs. It's one of the things I love about where I live. Call me very open minded, but I have a large amount of respect for people who are willing to share their world with others to learn with open arms and a smile.

Since the killings in the Connecticut elementary school, people in the media and society have been saying that America needs God back in public schools. Children need guidance when parents cannot provide it. Children need values and morals instilled in them when parents don't do it themselves. Because God has been taken out of schools, these massacres are allowed to happen. This is what is being said, not my words.

Let's backtrack for a second; I was born in Detroit, MI raised for maybe 4 years in a small town called Jackson and we use to say the "Pledge of Allegiance" as well as sing the "Our Country" at school. I vaguely remember that there were prayer sessions for some students every morning. Once I moved back to Detroit in maybe 1st-2nd grade, I noticed that those three morning "traditions" were missing and it was straight to work for us after morning announcements. I found out later that it was taken out of most schools around the US because other religions had some concerns of it.

Lately I have been thinking about the many extremists out there in quite a few religions and since hearing people saying God needs to be brought back to schools, it gives me an uneasy feeling. I don't think it is a bad idea, however, I wonder what do those who are voicing the need mean exactly? Who's God? Will it be everyone or just a certain few? Since 911, there are many who are not very friendly towards Muslims, so it leaves in my mind to wonder who will it benefit? Who will it exclude? As great as it would be to give exposure and enable all religions to coexist, sadly the reality is that there are going to be a few who will go on a fear and smear campaign and it will cause another problem in itself. And for a mother of 3? Yes I definitely want to avoid any mayhem and foolishness as I teach my children that they have the right to their own faith without prejudice. Over the years, this world has become a big melting pot of people and I sincerely hope that one day people will stop being so agoraphobic in their thinking and step outside their comfort zone and explore what they do not understand. But today, I say "They're not ready".