Washington Times’s Christmastime Editorial mentions 8-year-old Mariah Jordat of New Jersey, and how her teacher told her to put away the Bible she was reading during quiet time. Putting it under her desk wasn’t enough for her teacher. Mariah had to put her bible completely away in her backpack.
I remember when Harry Potter was breaking reading records among school-aged children, and it as all the rage for liberal librarians to spout their reading books of “such great lengths!” They tripped over tongues to emphasize ”they’re reading! at least they’re reading!” (No, I don’t like librarians. My image of them has moved beyond old ladies with bifocals in granny socks long ago.)
Had that student been reading a Harry Potter book, I can imagine that teacher telling their student, “reading time is over, but I’m so encouraged by your reading. Keep your book with you on your desk, and remember to read every chance you get.”
That’s what I would have done as a teacher.
So, yeah, it’s hypocritical, but not to be unexpected. No one wants to see reminders of what Christians believe.
And of course, you remember the Maxham Elementary School student who drew the Jesus crucified picture.
His family had to pay for a psychological evaluation to be readmitted into school to confirm whether or not he “posed a threat to himself or others“.
Which is interesting to me.
Everyone knows Jesus. How can anyone order a psychological evaluation of anyone who draws a Jesus picture? Crucified or not?
Then again, we know they’re evaluating the mental competencies of the 9/11 Terror Trial suspects, too.
Jihadists and children drawing pictures of Christ. Who knew?
Well .. we all know there’s secularism swirling around these two cases. New England’s the new battleground for the non-Christian. For the Christian, you involve yourself in a New Crusade when you say you’re against Gay Marriage or the homosexual lifestyle because it’s contrary to your belief system.
You’re not requiring death or imprisonment, but your Christian viewpoint is thought of as such. Then you’re the one ending up w/ the lables – bigot, racist.. Who acknowledges how you’ll have to kill your belief system to accept theirs?
Can’t we all just get along?
I’m just like you, really.
Look, you can even add me to the freak list.
You know how you see stuff like this. 
Maybe a little of that.
Maybe some of it purposeful. (??)
Piercings like this.. 
Some dolled up like that.
Or worse. 
Worser.
Then there are the tats..
Some worn proudly.. 
Angrily..
Strangely. 
(Conan??)
Some are pre-empting.
Some are hoping O-ppression sticks around. 
Some I’ll still call dork.
Or dumbass. 
Then there are the goth kids.
And not so-Goth kids. 
Lump me in, baby. I wear a huge crucifix around my neck..
And you can just call me Catholic. Or Christian. Freak? I don’t care.
Somewhere along the way, I got tired of the sad pollution people are putting on themselves .. for whatever reason. More often than not, I’ll see parents, children in tow, with tattoos running up and down their lower legs. Then there are the arms that poke out of the take-out windows, with enough ink to run down and drip into your car.
These are just regular people. Nice people. I don’t have a problem with it. People are where they’re at. There go I but for the grace of God, my life is not over .. and this is still America where people have the freedom to do whatever they want to their bodies. This is freedom. They don’t have to vote conservative .. and as long as they keep their pro-radical, pro-Obama opinions to themselves, I will still walk in silence, smile and cordially nod while I curse their Obama stickers.
Yes, they’re people. But it’s still pollution.
So I wear the crucifix.
It sits prominently on an 16′ black leather James Avery cord, and yes, it’s a honker cross. A St. Benedict crucifix, to be exact.
And, people, the reason I wear it is very simple.
Years ago, it wasn’t very hip to be Catholic. I don’t know. Maybe it still isn’t. I think The Passion broke through, and around that time, it was okay to speak apologetically about Catholic belief. A lot of conservative media personalities are Catholic. Ingraham, O’Reilly, Hannity. I dig it. It’s part of who they are, same as this is part of me.
We are Christian. To say we’re not .. well, you’d have to truly study the faith without prejudice for a basic understanding. And for those who get a ping of disdain when they think of Catholicism .. dude, it’s just another faith. Leave it alone, the way we choose to leave other faiths and so much more alone.
Like tattoos, body piercings and stretched ears.
My crucifix is my badge of faith. My belief system.
Consider it just another thread of Americana.
I swear, I’m just a jeans and Asics kinda girl, a shamelessly loving wife, a suburban mom who drives around town in a Tahoe, 5 kids and hubby in tow.
I curse. I love. I love humor and often wonder at God’s marvelous creation of the thing that happily boils up inside of us to the point of the exposed, excited exaltation – the laugh. I like naughty, especially the antics of my 4-yr old boy. I’m frank and quick to smile. I’m all-American and un-abashedly unafraid.
And I wear a huge crucifix.
If I get stares, I don’t care.
We’ve all had to get used to the freaks, the gays, the lesbos, the transvestites, the goths, the emos, the cutters, and sometimes the sad, frustrated faces worn by the people who love them.
Why not add that which I love to the mix?
Why should I censor myself, my belief system and do what the O-pposition would love to have done for me?
Yes, you might think it takes a little courage, and until I can afford a smaller sterling silver St. Benedict crucifix, this goes with me everywhere.
And I have absolutely no qualms about it. None. It’s at least 3 inches tall and sits front and center.
So.. yeah. That’s me.
I sit here, tempestuously typing at the computer, debating and conferring with my husband, nurturing the kids and loving the neighbors, opposing O-ppression and arguing for the freedom of America ,with a crucifx sitting at the top of my sternum.
I thought you should know.
Don’t make me say to hell with ya..
Additional Resources: “Conflicting accounts in student’s artwork controversy“
