That’s it, rub it in and depress me some more, Les.  It’ll be bad enough watching my kid recite it later this month ...

I dont think it’ll change the number of believers, or at most only affect society’s sheep who can be pretty much ignored anyway, let them suffer if it’s necesary to get them to think

Don’t care for the ignorent, let them earn your respect. Their burden is for them to carry, not for you to worry on other’s behalf; they will not change without accepting it themselves, so show no sympathy

That’s where you’re wrong, Bahamat. The willfully ignorant are a burden on us all. They do real damage with their ignorance. If it was limited to themselves I’d probably just sit back and laugh, but it’s not so I don’t.

I suppose (unfortunately) economics forces us to depend on them, but you can only do what’s within your power
what i meen is don’t worry about whats out of your hands, just make the best of it, even if ‘best’ involves some level of pain

That is unless you feel that it is within your influence to change things to a worthwhile extent

It seems I was lucky to get out of school when I did. I already got in enough trouble for refusing to stand for the national pledge, this wouldn’t have helped my standing as an open atheist.

I need to get off my ass and do something about this.

it’s a pity that people want to complain about god being in our schools. after all, it’s ~clearly evident~ that more time should be spent on the reflection of our relationship with god than on learning useless subjects (science, history, etc) or critical thinking. after all, society could use a few less critics: anti-war, anti-smoking, anti-god :( why do they hate our freedom so? :(

in the words of the great man himself: “is our children learning?”

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it may take a village to raise a child, but it only takes one idiot to screw the village.

arin721 - freedom is fine, but I draw a line at the point where it restricts the freedom of others. Your freedom to smoke restricts other’s freedom to breathe air, your freedom to make war restricts other’s freedom to live, your freedom to teach religion restricts other’s freedom to think for themselves/reach their own view at that point in time. Of course, you do have a choice to do these things, but be aware of what you’re doing and be aware of what consequences there may be in the system.

Also I will say that critical thinking is aimed to protect people, it is there to identify problems so there isn’t rampant abuse. It may take a certain amount of time as the victim of a place without critical thinking to appreciate that.

Unrelated, I’ll also say to everyone that if everyone had some level of cowardice, there might be less suffering in the world because cowards are less inclined to push their ways on others (they are more concerned with their own affairs), they are more respectful of people’s freedom to be what they want. Cowards are also sometimes more responsive to what suffering they cause.

er, sorry.  i forgot to put my tags around that.

IF YU LILYLIVERED LIBERALS WANT TO DENI GOD THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR GREAT STATE WE DON CUM AND TEL YALL WHAT TO BELIEVE WHICH IS WHY YOU FAGGOTS ARE ALL DIEING OF AIDS.

Thought I’d save a Texan the trouble.

Nice attempt, LH, but you forgot to inject a reference to “Darwinism.”

Not only is “Darwinism” too many syllables for them it’s probably such a dirty word they wouldn’t use it if they could.

What? No references to the homosexual agenda? I’d be insulted if I cared.

Rubber ducky days are over, my friends