Sticking it to the Man

I have to admit to a rebellious streak.   I had one as a kid.  It seems I still have one now.  I hate being told that I HAVE TO conform to something.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  Being bossed into some activity sets my teeth on edge.  Being told I can’t do something generally has the same effect too.

In my school days this “attitude” caused me some problems.  I realize as an adult that there were lots of different reasons for that.  One of the big reasons was that after several years of being made to feel stupid in the public school system, I realized that I was objectively and measurably smarter than my teachers.  (Giving the Stanford Binet test to kids is NOT always a good idea.  Accusing that kid of cheating and making him retake the test 3 times, is also not a good idea.)  During my school years I got a special kick out of things that made teacher’s and other school authority types look stupid or uncomfortable. 

Even if I have grown up since then, I still get a kick out seeingpublic school parasites squirm.

In unapologetic defiance of a South Carolina school district’s ban on prayer at graduation ceremonies, valedictorian Roy Costner IV shredded his approved speech and rocked the crowd at his high-school commencement – with a reading of the “Lord’s Prayer.”

Who would have thought that reciting the Lord’s Prayer would be an act of civil disobedience?  If they had tried to make us say the Lord’s Prayer in school, I would have fought it all the way.  I don’t have a thing against the Lord’s Prayer, but if you would have tried to MAKE ME say it, it never would have happened.  Likewise it’s extremely silly to tell kids that they have to abandon all faith at the school house door.  Especially since no one on really means that. 

What is meant when separating “church and state” is just that, keeping “church” i.e. Christians out.  If you’re an atheist/materialist your philosophical/religious beliefs are accepted doctrine in a public school.  If you happen to be a Wicca, welcome.  Jewish?  Glad to have you, unless you make the Muslims uncomfortable, in which case jihad is just part of the peaceful religion.  Hindu, Buddhist, Krishna, Jedi Knight, Raelism, Pana Wave, and Pastafarians are all welcome.   Just nobody pray to God in the name of Jesus, cause that would ruin everything.