While We Watch

We are all busy with our lives. We work, raise our families, do what we can. The world move along and we see what happens, but we really don’t take the time notice, to think, and to react.
Here it is at the beginning of July 2005. A situation is developing in the southern US. People are praying! Imagine that. They are praying before school board meeting. They always pray before school board meetings.

But, if the ACLU has its way, that praying will come to an end. Moreover, if anyone dares to pray, says the ACLU, who are not a law-making body, they are subject to ARREST
We need to stop everything that we are doing. We need to notice this, think about this, and to react.

Notice first. Arrest for praying. Are we all aware of the societies throughout history who have implemented such a ruling? Do we know what happened to those societies? Can we envision what will happen to ours? Notice how the argument is framed by the ACLU. They are PROTECTING US. From what? They are upholding the Bill of Rights. Which Amendment?

Think. What does it mean to live in a world in which praying is illegal? Make no mistake; this will carry far beyond the pre- school board meeting. What will people do? Throughout time, in all cultures, throughout the world, people have prayed, not a majority of the people, but an overwhelming preponderance of all cultures have prayed. And they have died for their beliefs and their desire to pray. So, people will continue. How will they be policed, monitored, tracked? Will there be enough guardians of prayer abstention to insure that praying is not taking place? Will every nook and cranny be fitted with surveillance cameras? Will the watchers be trained to differentiate between prayer and simply sitting quietly? What about meditation? Does that count? If a person is meditating on a sunset, is that acceptable, but if he is meditating on God, Whoosh! Off to prison? How do we know?

Many cultures seek solace and joy in quiet moment deeply connected to the natural world around them. In cities throughout the world, groups of people meet in parks and practice the Chinese art of Tai Chi, that gentle, graceful, flowing dance that invigorates yet calms and soothes. The mental, emotional, and psychological effects are not unlike the effects of prayer. The participants, called “players,” feel a communion (OOPS) with a universal energy. Are they praying? Tai Chi is so wonderful that simply observing groups playing is a joyous experience! But this makes it easy for the ACLU. They can simply get some vans, go to Kissena Park in Queens, or xxx, at sunrise, and whisk away busloads of people Why? Because they are PROTECTING US. Tai Chi in public? No more.
But there is a precedent for this. The Chinese government outlawed Tai Chi in the 1950s. (That law is now not upheld).

Think some more. Where on Earth will all of these prisoners be housed? Do we have enough institutions? As time passes (and not too much time; there are many people who pray), the institutions will fill.

Think. We must fee, clothe, and provide medical care for these praying folks. It is going to get expensive! What is the solution?

There is a precedent for this as well. Nazi Germany had a Final Solution for its problems back in 1939.
React. Decide how you want to live. Decide how you want your children to live. What do you see when you close your eyes and you picture your children as adults in the world?

Imagine that world in many forms. Look at the images in your mind. Think logically and do not be afraid to question. If you believe that this ACLU action is benign and meaningless, fine. But, if you believe that the threat that they pose is too great to ignore, then take a stand.

You have the time. Turn off your television. Close your Instant Messenger window. Write. Denounce. Get angry. Refuse to tolerate. Protect yourself, your family, and your world.

I do not pray. Perhaps you don’t either. But I will not ignore reality. Others do; they always have and they always will No organization, no government, no special interest group, will have the power to stop that. But in their efforts to try, they will strip us all of every right that we have.
If we do not take action, we cannot cry when our world disappears from under us. It happened while we watched.