Recently my 17-year-old step daughter, a senior in high school who is as tall, beutiful and graceful as she is intelligent, talented and thoughtful, particpated in a certemony in her school in which different representatives of religions were asked to give a blessing at the start.
My step daughter asked if she, an atheist, could also give a blessing. The school refused, saying it 'wouldn't be appropriate' and that it would be 'counterproductive'. I guess that isn't terribly suprising - we seem to be living in an age where appeasing the potential outrage of parents is more important than the actual pursuit of knowldge, an endeavor that carries with it the danger of challenging beliefs both cherished and unexamined.
My step daughter wrote one any way, and I lent a hand. While she wasn't allowed to give the blessing at the ceremony, one of her teachers asked her to read it in class and she received very positive feedback. Later, the teacher read it to a number of other clasess, this time with the author unnamed, and reported back that the reactions were considerably more mixed. Monday they are due to review, in class, what the meaning of these varied outcomes to the speech mean/suggest about faith, belief, assumptions about the relationship of religion to morality, etc. I admire that teacher, who is doing a good job of keeping the minds of her students engaged, open and challenged.
I thought I'd share the blessing here, I'm interested to hear what the OS community thinks.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
I feel blessed to be here. By 'here' I mean more than the pinning ceremony. By 'here' I mean, this time and place, at this specific juncture of history, on this uniquely beautiful life-sustaining planet earth, the place that we call home.
I know I am not alone in feeling blessed - that all of us here today feel blessed.
Some of us believe that this blessing is conferred by Yahweh; some from Vishnu. Some feel blessed by the Buddha, some by Jehovah, some by Allah. Some will swear their blessings come from no God or gods at all, but rather from the universe itself. The Force, if you will.
We can argue over the existence of deities, but one thing is inarguable: we are, each of us, differently blessed:
Some of us are born to wealth; some to artistic talent.
Some of us are born to beauty, and grace; some to an innate ability to speak languages.
Some of us have a special empathy; some of us an ability to fight for truth and justice.
Some of us can play the violin for heads of state; some of us can hit a ball longer, throw it farther or with more accuracy than 99.9% of the population.
It is my belief that whatever our blessings are, and however we believe them to be conferred, is less important than how we choose to use those blessings. In this, I am in good company:
Ben Franklin recommended the best life would be lived by asking The Morning Question, What Good shall I do this Day? Followed by The Evening Question, What Good have I done today?
Thomas Jefferson said, "Our Saviour... has taught us to judge the tree by its fruit, and to leave motives to Him who can alone see into them."
There are many who argue about what these great men believed - the theists and the deists and the atheists alike cherry pick quotes from these men who accomplished so much, with so much wisdom, even in spite of their very human failings - they cherry pick a sentence here, a comment there, as if taking such comments out of the context of fully lived and realized lives can prove or disprove how much like themselves these great men were.
As for me, I don't care if Franklin or Jefferson or Roosevelt or Lincoln or Washington were Deists, theists, atheists, or polytheists. What matters is that they used their blessings to do good. To be good men, good workers, good thinkers, good doers of good deeds. And they attributed their ability to distinguish right from wrong not to a god or gods, but to themselves, and their personal choices.
They held themselves to the highest standard of good that there is - the standard we can set for ourselves each and every day, a standard they believed to be innate in all of us, as well as something we all should strive for.
Just as we are blessed to be here, now, so too do we bless one another with our constant striving to do good each day, and not judge one another when we fail; to give each other the chance to use the unique gifts we are blessed with to do the good and right things.
It is this, the recognition that each of us holds in ourselves the power to do good, that the ability to do so is not conferred upon us by an outside source that will reward or punish us, but rather, springs from within ourselves as natural as our sense of sight or hearing or touch, that I consider the greatest blessing of all.
May we all live lives blessed by goodness.
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Comments
Rated.
i will puzzle as long as i live about what possible grounds one would have to *object* to a statement like this. it must threaten but i can't figure out how.
i'd say calling it a blessing, however, does it a disservice; to me it's more like a benediction.
may we all lead lives blessed by goodness, indeed.
I love the community services we do at camp in the summer. We chose a theme like peace or creativity and then the campers and staff create a multi-faith service around it. There are always many voices, many perspectives, inclusing atheists. Your step daughter's blessing would have been a perfect fit.
Thanks very much for posting this. After reading it I’m uncharacteristically at a loss for words. Please tell your precious stepdaughter (and know for yourself for your hand in this piece) that a fellow writer at OS commented the following:
“I wish I could write a blessing like that.”
Rated and appreciated
That we are all blessed is, it seems to me, indisputable. That we will never all agree on the source of that blessing is also indisputable. To decide that some blessings are more honorable than others because of the belief or not of the one who offers it is asinine.
In that sense, it seems very odd to have some students represented by someone who speaks on behalf of one deity, someone who speaks on behalf of another, etc. That's still reductionist.
When the person giving the blessing can recognize a force bigger than themselves; then anybody passing a negative judgement on that statemenjt goes contrary to ANY major religion.
Any other words: whoever censored that needs to start acting like the Buddhist, Jew, Christian, Hindi, Sufi, or Muslim they claim to be.
And btw 17???????? I couldn't exress a statement of faith this beautifully till I was 40!
I think your daughter is great
Hug her for me too
existentialism... People of science always find themselves reality based... That's one smart little girl, be very proud Sandra
"It is this, the recognition that each of us holds in ourselves the power to do good, that the ability to do so is not conferred upon us by an outside source that will reward or punish us, but rather, springs from within ourselves as natural as our sense of sight or hearing or touch, that I consider the greatest blessing of all."
That is a big truth for a 17 year old or for any age. Well done.
Though it originally arose from the OE word denoting a blood-sprinkling on pagan altars, it has come to also mean a conferring of happiness or well-being. There's really no other word like it. It's used in a highly secular way in recent years; the general "be blessed" is one example. I think even a die-hard atheist can consider himself or herself blessed, or would crave that feeling as much as a theist.
Sandra, what a bright critical thinker your stepdaughter is.
I am glad you don't see the harm in crosses on state buildings. Maybe if you didn't pass for Christian with your weak vacillating views, and if you were identifiable to a specific non-Christian religion, you would prefer if the government wasn't implying that one religion takes precedence.
Of course, as an essentially entirely mainstreamed person, you have no direct experience that would create empathy for those who prefer religious neutrality from our government so as to avoid exclusion or the appearance thereof. Too bad you can't gin up the empathy without having the experience. That shows a real flaw in your character. You should try to fix that.
she's better than they, and will likely rise far above them
Plus, I loved Monte´s inspired and inspiring comment.
Kisses,
Marcela
We pretend, with a wink and a nod, that the purpose of schooling is to investigate and pass on knowledge, to challenge contemporary thinking. That is clearly not the purpose at all, but rather to 'socialize' our youth so that they become conformists in this great capitalistic democracy we have.
Minds like hers are wasted every day, and given no voice--to you and to her teacher great credit belongs for understanding what it is to be truly blessed. And to her, great thanks for sharing herself even with those who would not listen.
The school managers are idiots. Did anyone of them even read this before they passed their judgements ?
I feel more blessed for having read this.
Rated
are you describing a private firehouse? If so, put a cross on it. If it is a public building? Then leave your iconography off of it.
Every public building in this country was built with money raised of off people of all kinds of faiths. It is just cleaner to leave the slate blank. Fighting fires is not a denominational issue, to my mind.
If some group wants to donate to the public weal, that's nice. They should settle for the warm feeling that gives them and be willing to forgo the advertisement.
I am not sure that you understand the concepts "messiah complex" and "crusade." You should google them.
Congratulate your daughter on being smarter than the twits who run her school. She should continue giving them lessons like this.
And, for the small eruption of words which have occurred, I began my interest in religious study in an American public high school. We had "world religions" as an elective and I took it as I knew the teacher would be amazing - and she was.
I think the way to make a point isn't to bait, but to point out that there is a way to "offer" things in a public setting rather than force it down each others floats. Yes, America was originally built on a predominantly Christian foundation. Times are changing. Our framework was built so we could evolve, not remain unchanged. There needs to be a balance of respect for legacy while being more open-minded as we move forward (i.e. 200 year old courthouse with an old religious statue, I would say it stays. New courthouse being built, no religious statue need to be mixed in.) This would honor what we were built on but be mindful of where we are going...I see a post coming on.
It often amazes me how many religious-minded adults don't get that ethics, morality, goodness, etc. are human traits and not merely properties of the faithful (if even that!). Frankly, I'm more comfortable with people who are ethical and good because of their own strong convictions and not out of fear of some higher power.
The girl is wise beyond her years.
It's quite a subversive thought, that you can be a good person while not believing in God. The other subversive thought is that a person can be moral and strive to be s better person without religion as a moral guide.
What if your step-daughter was persuasive with her beautifully written blessing and convinced one or more questioning teen to ditch God!
With small steps like this, the country will go to hell!
Despite the highly moral content of her speech, everyone knows that atheists are immoral. Therefore, kids who find her appeal to be a better person attractive will end up ditching all morals as a result of her speech.
Of course.
1. There is an action oriented morality that flows through all of this.
She's not just talking about belief, she's talking about action.
That puts this on par with any religious blessing.
2. Atheism is as old as time. It is not a religion thought up in some
one's garage last week. That gives this history.
3. A founding principle of our country is freedom of religion.
Denying this voice is un-American.
4. One wonders at the next step. Book burning?
Stopping a young persons freedom of religion is both sad and dangerous and a threat to all of us.
How fortunate you are to have such a person included in your family.
To do right and good and true is the daily struggle. Whatever we adhere to, or prop up, or testify for, it is, every day, what this simple, eloquent prayer says: it's beautiful here, we are luckyluckylucky to be sentient and alive, and we must be compassionate to each other.
You and your stepdaughter 'admire the right things'. And you get the most profound truth of truths: all religious feelings, ideas, and states are a subset of the whole human experience. Transcendence, blessings, grace, and goodness are available to us all. Even the faithless.
I saved a copy of this. thanks
(Ironic isn't it, that even here in your comments an argument breaks out.)
When we first moved here, the first question people would ask us is "what church do you go to?" Not wanting to ruffle anyone's feathers, we'd just respond that we haven't found one yet or have been so busy. But, it literally happened with every conversation. So, I finally began saying, "We don't go to church." It was amazing to me how their behavior changed before my eyes. I mean, we were having a perfectly normal conversation and then it was if I contracted the plague or went on a murderous rampage right in front of them. Sometimes, I'd try to ease their discomfort with a, "Something always goes wrong on a Sunday." or "It seems that's when the cows try to test the fences."
I guess that's one of my main problems with religion in general. You can come to my house, have great conversations, ask me to help you - which I do, yet I'm somehow an inferior person or a bad person because I don't believe exactly as they do. Hypocrisy.
Good for her for raising the questions. Good for her teacher for actually recognizing them and opening a discussion.
The fact that a teacher, who is representing the school in that role, is taking it seriously and talking about it in classes reflects well on the school.
Its not that I didn't like it and everything.
Maybe secular humanism is a religion or close enough. Although this type of thoudht seems to be the way groups like the Unitarians and Ethical Culturalists think.
I tend toward ateism myself and think a lot of its appeal is that it isn't a religion and doesn't have many of the less desirable characteristics of many organized religions.
snoreville, I think that begs the question - an institution of learning doesn't have much business giving religion a place of honor in a ceremony that excludes those who don't share the same underlying beliefs. What's more, it doesn't have any business having religion as a centerpiece of such events - school should be free of religious indoctrination. Studying religion's role in society as subject matter is fine, as long as the idea that a deity has authored or otherwise controls the universe is balanced by the notion that some of us hold that the physical laws of the universe are neither invented nor governed by a sentient entity.
Or, if something isn't worthy of being done, it isn't worthy of being done better.
If you let in atheists, what about Scientologists? It's a slippery slope and maybe the door should be closed to all religions.
Having said that, I am favorably impressed with the blessing of your step daughter.
When it comes to Social Sciences, Philosophy, Religion, etc. Reason must, at all times, be divorced from Morals, Ethics, modes of social conduct. It must be this way in order to maintain the Status Quo.
The Status Quo is the true Axis of Evil: it is the Altruist-Collectivist-Mystic Axis.
Atheism defies Mysiticism and that is the only reason your stepdaughter was denied. She had been an Psycho-Epistimological Retard like the other presenters she would have been given permission. In other words, se was denied BECAUSE she is reasonable. She was denied because she refused to appeal to magic.
The Establishment can't have kids thinking that magic isn't real, how else will they push their Anti-Idealogies into their brains?
The attendees are all the poorer from having been denied the blessing of your intelligent and thoughtful stp daughter. She is all the richer for the lesson that many adults are not as bright as we would like and are often in positions of authority. One hopes that this experience spurs her to continue her appreciation of diversity, her love of learning, and her life of doing good. I'm proud and delighted to share a planet with her.
I can't for the life of me figure out why all so-called 'American' history begins with those musty Ben Franklins and Thomas Jeffersons - yeah, they said some cool stuff. But the REAL Americans, the First Nations people, had it goin' on - and they are not quoted or remembered or credited with keeping this land pristine for eons before the White Man showed up and f'd it all up.
'Humanist' for real. Alice Walker is a humanist. I think it's a great way to go! Check out the following blessings.....
Cherokee Blessing:
May the warm winds of Heaven blow softly on your home,
And the Great Spirit bless all who enter there.
May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows,
And may the rainbow always touch your shoulder.
Cherokee Prayer:
Oh Great spirit,
grant that I may never find fault
with my neighbor until I have walked
the trail of life in his moccasins.
Indian Blessing:
Let us walk softly on the Earth
with all living beings great and small
remembering as we go, that one God
kind and wise created all.
Navajo Blessing:
We walk in our moccasins upon the Earth
And beneath the sky
As we travel on life's path of beauty
We will live a good life and reach old age.
A BarkingLot Pick Of The Litter this week, Sandra.
Your daughter is on the right track.
It was a marvelous statement that showed respect for others. What more could you possibly ask of a teenager? She deserves kudos (as does that teacher - we need more like that teacher!).
Rated.
That's WFSMWD.
Thanks to your step-daughter.
Beyond that, this entire occurrence exhibits the core hypocrisy underlying our society in general. It demonstrates even better the exclusionary and divisive nature of religions.
I am curious about one thing; what was the purpose of the event? Was it a religious event? I find it troubling that an event occurring in a school would have anything to do with promoting religious beliefs of any kind in any way. And then to exclude your daughter’s offering is especially offensive. It angers me.
I hope she keeps up the good fight to teach others that atheists are good people too.
Juxtapose this with the case of banning of Band t-shirts in a Missouri high school because they exhibited the famous human evolutionary pictorial. In that situation, the school board’s reaction was so extreme that they bought up all the t-shirts for over $700, just to appease a few religious nuts.
It’s so encouraging to see our inadequate educational funding being put to such good use.
"Why was there a need ..."