25 November 2009 The 3 Rs in too many schools readin’, ‘writin’, religion

Today began too early or yesterday ended too late. Which ever thought is more correct, it was 0’dark-thirty when I struggled from supine to vertical and left the warmth and comfort of our bed in order to drain the dog and retrieve the newspaper.

This being Wednesday, the crock pot full of oatmeal was ready for breakfast.

The newspaper had its usual local stories about thefts, convenience store robberies, drug stings, and inter-personal arguments ending in physical violence, drunken drivers arrested for a 5th, 6th, or 7th, offense of DUI and Driving without a license. There was a sprinkling of stories about local food for the poor resources. They are all experiencing increased demand and decreased donation. More local families than ever before are requesting help to put a Thanksgiving dinner on the table. Each box provided to a family this year has less than ever before. Still, everyone receiving help has a great deal to be thankful for.

Infallibly, before the week is over, there will be at least one newspaper article relating the arrest of one or more people on charges of transporting drugs for sale. The driver will have been pulled over for a routine traffic violation, running a red light, failure to yield, speeding, failure to stop for a school bus. Or the driver will have been driving a car with broken lights, perhaps driving aggressively, or erratically, triggering a complaint that results in a traffic stop. There are not enough police on duty at any given time to spot and stop all the people transporting drugs. The drivers, and their passengers, are often caught only because they call attention to their car.

As noted above, the region has a large problem keeping drunken drivers off the roads. All too often DUI is not regarded as the potential homicidal act that it can and does become. I hate drunk drivers. Let me repeat that, “I hate drunk drivers!” Over the years I spent working in hospitals, I’ve seen a steady torrent of people maimed or killed by drunk drivers come through one ER or another. All too often the victims were sober when injured and will bear the brunt of someone else’s lack of concern for the rest of their lives.

We, as a nation, need to deal with drunk drivers in a hard and fast manner. There should be no court of law or of public opinion willing to give a pass to a drunk driver. They belong afoot after the first offense and in jail if they repeat. No excuses, no hardship licenses, no probation or parole, no easy-out for 12 stepping.

I write this, knowing full well that I, like most other American drivers, could have been caught driving while drunk more than once. I was lucky. I never damaged a car or injured anyone while driving drunk. But I also know that I risk my life every time I drive these local roads, particularly at night. I understand that driving is not a right, but a privilege subject to legal restrictions. I always have known that, just haven’t been smart enough, always, to apply it to my own mortality and actions.

Today’s newspaper also had “the weekly letter.” At least once a week someone pens and submits a letter to the editor blaming all societal ills on the removal of prayer from school and public meetings. The author called upon Congress to arbitrarily insert prayer – make that Christian prayer of course into schools and into every public meeting. This, she maintained would rapidly repair all social and cultural ills as “God” reclaims America and runs the nation. I’m hard-pressed to think of any illegal behavior that takes place today in schools, in small towns, or in large cities that did not take place a century ago in some analogous form. History fails to document any real evidence of any nation existing without anti-social, illegal, or immoral behavior by its citizens despite the practice of personal or groups prayer in schools or at meetings.

I see at least one such letter in the local paper each week and the author invariably fails to note that he or she is legally able to pray anywhere they like as long as they do it privately without involving anyone else in the process. These authors seldom mention that they have the option of sending their children to religion-based schools if they choose, where their children can pray on schedule. These authors also fail, for the most part, to state that they only consider one particular form of prayer, that stemming from their particular church and its hierarchy as acceptable. That stipulation should be prominently displayed in most such letters like the warnings on tobacco products. The authors want the local school board and the state to incorporate their particular brand of prayer into the classroom so that all students are dosed daily. They seem unable to understand that this violates the 1st amendment to our Constitution by causing the state to endorse a particular brand of religion. Pointing this out to them, in word or in print, will always trigger the accusation of a “war on Christianity.” It will be interesting to see how many times that call to abolish the 1st Amendment turns up between now and year’s end.

We roasted and peeled chestnuts today, to use in tomorrow’s dinner. We managed to not eat so many while peeling as to force a menu change.

Looking out the back door toward the creek is always pleasant. Gloria has multiple bird feeders up on poles, on cables, and any where else she can find room for one. There is always bird activity and the change in populations as the seasons change is fun to watch. Today, under bright blue skies, our

Bradford pear tree is beginning to change to red. It is the last of our trees to make the color change. It is home to an unknown number of birds. There transits to and from the feeders keep the tree’s branches moving as if there is a constant wind. Here’s a look at that view.