Students Free to Thank Anybody, Except God
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland public school students are free to thank anyone they want while learning about the 17th century celebration of Thanksgiving (search) — as long as it’s not God.
And that is how it should be, administrators say.
FoxNews is reporting a story where all of the Christian aspects of Thanksgiving are stripped from the story.
What exactly do the schools teach about the Pilgrims? When I studied Thanksgiving as a child, the origins of Thanksgiving were very religious. According to Harry Hornblower, an archaeologist devoted to research on the Pilgrims, says that the Pilgrims felt that their “series of misfortunes meant that God was displeased, and the people should both search for the cause and humble themselves before him. Good fortune, on the other hand, was a sign of God’s mercy and compassion, and therefore he should be thanked and praised.” And so founded Thanksgiving Day.
Is it so wrong to be historically accurate?
Via a tip from Michelle Malkin.
This is an amazing absurdity. It’s a historical fact that the pilgrims were religious, it is the reason they left England. To deliberately avoid mentioning it in a history class is to lie. One doesn’t even have to belong to or approve a religion to teach that at certain times, certain people had certain religious customs. Those are facts, not religious beliefs. So what does a teacher do when a student looks at a historical picture of a colonial era town and asks “What are those pointy topped buildings for?” Does the teacher say “I don’t know”, or “They won’t let us discuss those.” Next we’ll see Paul Revere’s story re-written to eliminate any reference to faith: He hung the lantern in a… um… an unusually tall building.
Ben
November 23, 2004
Absolutely. The US Constitution doesn’t say “separation of church and state.” It just says the US government can’t establish, promote, or inhibit a religion. What’s the point of saying the Pilgrims weren’t religious?
I can hardly wait to see the way they explain the Crusades.
Michael
November 24, 2004
[...] Chasing the Wind [...]
Michelle Malkin » OH, DEAR LORD…
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