Day of Prayer

Okay, Day of Prayer. I probably will not be participating because I am not a religiously active person. I do not participate in religious activities, such as mass, so I won't be doing anything for the Day of Prayer. Yes, I know that my not being religious doesn't have to prevent me from doing something for the day, such a tolerance, but despite knowing thise, I still won't be participating. However, that doesn't mean I specifically shun religion. I respect those who feel the need to honor their specific faith. In fact, I think faith is a good thing... Not for me, though.

Since I won't be doing anything, I'll just skip right to the part where I kick some ass... I mean, the part where I talk about the Day of Prayer's place in school =). It is an interesting question, the Day's place in school, and it reflects the bigger issue of religion in schools. Personally, I see no harm from people reflecting on their beliefs or talking to their God. As we have learned in Social Studies, the Abrahamic religions are based on a close bond with God. So if Muslims want to communicate to Allah during school, they can go right ahead. If it causes classroom disruptions, well, that is not my problem. Still, I feel that some of the minority (minority, as opposed to semi-minorities such as Jews) groups like Hindus could feel left out. Granted, we don't have any Hindus in our school, but at the risk of sounding too cliche, I'm going to go ahead and say that it is the principle of the thing. If we did have Hindus in our school, they would feel left out, and any Hindus that aren't in our school would be discriminated against by this act. Hindus do not "pray" because their religion is not based on this close contact with God, and thus, a "Day of Prayer" for a Hindu would be like a Bar Mitzvah for a Christian. As I was saying earlier, there is little direct harm from people praying, and I think it is good for the soul. You know, like chicken soup (Again, though, I don't eat chicken soup).

So I've offered some differing viewpoints here. What about the Day of Silence, though? Well, I don't think the school sponsored that anyway, but if they did, what could happen (knock on wood)? I mean, so they are sponsoring tolerance, call the papers. As I was saying, though, I don't think they did sponsor it, and for the Day of Prayer, as for the Day of Silence, students could participate if they wanted to. On the other hand, I don't think students could skip part of school to pray, while on the Day of Silence, students could essentially withdraw from classes in a shroud of ....

In an twist of fate, I've had another "bird break." The most annoying group of what sounds like 10 birds are calling outside my window. It sounds more like they're dieing, though.

What was I saying again? Oh yes, I was saying that on the Day of Silence, students could withdraw from classes in a shroud of... well, silence. Now how fair is that to those prayer students? An arguement could continually be brought up as to why or why not it should be allowed, but when it comes down to it, one group should not be increased by the taking away of priveleges (or in this case, days) of another. But then, what is life?