Hi Marie...
Since you are a teacher I was wondering if I could ask you your opinion on this un-constitutional ruling of the pledge of allegiance?
If this ruling stands nation-wide (which I highly doubt) would you conduct your classroom any differently? Would you stand and salute the flag every morning just the same?
I would appreciate your views on this.
Take care...

Good Question.
Since I teach in a parochial school, this ruling would not affect me. We pray everyday too. I wouldn't change a thing about my opening routine. But I have that freedom. You might ask if I was teaching in public school, what would I do. Well I can't speak for my fellow teachers, but I think I would try and still have the pledge every day. I guess I might institute the policy that if a child objected to standing and saying it with us they were free not to. I had a child who came from a non religious home in my class this past year and I didn't force her to pray either. Her mom knew she was sending her kids to a religious school and was required that her children attend religion class, religious services and prayer time, but I would never make a child do something they feel they couldn't do. I only wish my colleagues in the public school had this freedom. It is a sad world we live in. I heard a really good comment the other day. Seems like this atheist came up to a Christian and asked him where his God was when the Columbine shooting took place. The Christian answered, He wasn't allowed in! Makes you think!

Thank you so much for your reply Luckymama.
This whole situation has got me to thinking about this country...and about the spiritual aspect of it all. I truly, truly hope that this ruling is over turned. I believe that our founding fathers wrote the Constitution with the grace of God in mind.
It is such a sad day when the narrow-minded are allowed free speech. LOL.
I sincerely thank you again for shedding your light on this.
Have a beautiful day! And to all of Freddie's friends. :wave:

I believe President Bush used the word "ridiculous" when he reacting to this mess, and I agree with him.

Our country needs to be united, especially now, when our country and our people are under attack by outsiders. These kinds of petty rulings, in my opinion, only tears us apart little by little.

Some people obviously have too much time on their hands!

Luckymama, I like that comment at the end of your post! I does make you think!

Originally posted by Karen64
I believe President Bush used the word "ridiculous" when he reacting to this mess, and I agree with him.

Our country needs to be united, especially now, when our country and our people are under attack by outsiders. These kinds of petty rulings, in my opinion, only tears us apart little by little.

Some people obviously have too much time on their hands!

Luckymama, I like that comment at the end of your post! I does make you think!
Amen to that Karen. Well said.
:patriot:

I agree with all of you here. It saddens me to see that a country that was bound together in the values that brought this great country to what it is today. The great values from our fore fathers believed in God and the power of prayer . The phrase " Under God" should not only be a part of our heritage. but also to what this country stands for today!

I agree with ya'll. This is so sad. In God we trust. Boy, if Freddie were alive he would've been really upset about this because he had such faith in God from what I read about him. I once read a saying that said as long as there are tests there will always be prayer in school...

I'm just going to jump in here because this is something that really bothers me. My family has been in the military, so we were raised with a certain repsect for the flag and our country. I remember in school having to recite the pledge and I also remember the big mess they had about prayer in school. No one I knew of could figure out why we weren't allowed to pray, but then again no one really tried to figure out why either. We just accepted as something that the school said. Is this going to be the fate of children to come?

The ruling is that church and state should be separate, right? And the problem with the Pledge of Allegiance is the phrase "under God", right? Well, to me, by taking it out of schools and making it unconstitutional, you're denying the children of the future the right to decide for themselves what's right and what's wrong. To keep people from learning a part of history that many people have grown up with, is to also change the outlook of the future. How will people react when they read in a history book 20 years from now that a tradition was revoked by the Supreme Court because of two words?

And now of all times to be doing something so ridiculous! The time the country as a whole needs to pull together and stand beside each other! That's the most heart breaking part of all to me. Have we gotten too numb to remember what just happened not so long ago?

I'm sorry for the book here. I do apologize for going on and on, but I just had to get this out of my system. I thank you for reading this.

Thank you Dani for such an eloquent response. I couldn't have said it better if I tried.
Your words are very touching and thought-provoking...you brought up an excellent point. What are the children of the future going to think when they read that national tradition (especially one that's been held in such high regard and reverence) had to be changed just because of the words Under God?
What will happen if our currency is changed to no longer include "In God We Trust"? What happens when we can no longer be held to the highest power in a court of law simply because we can't utter "So help me God"?
As far as I'm concerned..there will no longer be any reason for the children of tomorrow to trust in something bigger than themselves. They won't be held accountable for their actions...at least by a higher being. I think it's sad..but I see it as a demise of our values and morals.
Thanks again Dani...you got me thinking.

In the light of all this & with 4th of July upcoming, I made a new Freddie Avatar/picture with the theme of God & The Flag in it. I took 2 different quotes of Freddies & put them on the pic. It's no work of art like Dani's but I tried. Enjoy! :)

Cheryl, I want to start by saying I love your new avatar. I would love to use it as my wallpaper, por favor.

Dani got me to thinking about something else that is happening in our area. As most of you know, the Civil War was fought in our backyard, in my state and surrounding states. I am originally a NYer who had relatives who fought for the union. History is history as far as I am concerned, and I love the quote that "people who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".
We have another disease going on in our area lately. It is called revisionist history. Just because some unpleasant things are a part of our country's history, some people think we should just erase it, like they are doing with the references to God in the schools. On the monuments at the major Civil War battlefields in our area they are changing the wording because some poeple find some of it offensive. As many of you know, there has been a controversy about the confederate flag too. I am no southern sympathizer or anything, but I did see a bumper sticker the other day that got me thinking tho, it had a picture of the confederate flag and it had next to it: History, not hate. I know that this can be a symbol of hate, but it is a part of our history and we should not forget, lest we are doomed to repeat it. The straw that broke this lady's back, tho are the efforts in DC, our nations capital, by these revisionists to take George Washington's and Thomas Jefferson's name off of everything because these to great Americans owned slaves.

My, my.... if we don't teach our kids the truth, THE WHOLE TRUTH, no matter how ugly, will we be dooming ourselves to repeat such horrors as slavery, lynchings, the Civil War and even world wide tragedies like the holocaust? I shudder to think!

I am sorry, these things have been bothering me for a long time. I know Freddie worried about the hypocracy of our world. It bothered him that people treated each other badly, that even his own people didn't get what he was trying to do. Maybe this was part of what led to his dispair in the end. I hope all of us will at least do what we can when faced with these challenges. I may not be able to do much, but I know one thing, I will pray for our country and especially its children.

Happy 4th of July Everyone! LET FREEDOM RING!!!!patriot:

I feel so sorry for today's children. Look at what they have to contend with. My generation has been through the wringer. Everything is a controversy!! Everything............... I believe in God and I always will. I say History is History and it should not be changed. No matter what....... I believe certain people want to be in the media and stir up controversy but, personally I will not give them the time of day!

Cheryl. Freddie would be so proud of what you have done. It's a great idea. :)

Glad ya'll liked the avatar. Feel free to use any of my avatars & pics I've done as wallpapers or anything. I made them for people to enjoy including myself. :) I agreee with ya'll on the Coinfederate stuff. The debates over that have gone on here in VA...

Dani, You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!patriot:

Hello all -

Not being a regular here, and being the only agnostic, or even non-christian, it seems on this board, I realize I'm setting myself up for a major butt-kicking, but I can't not say my piece on this.

I do NOT think the pledge should be banned, I think that was a ridiculous ruling. I DO, however, believe that the words "under God" need to be REMOVED from the pledge, and here's why.

The original Pledge of Allegiance, written in the late 1800's did NOT include "under God." That phrase was added in 1954 by President Eisenhower (sp?) in the midst of his Commie Witch Hunt. It was added to support the notion that if you did not believe in God, you were a commie, and if you were a commie, you were a traitor. It's misuse of religion, in a way that religion is too often misused.

The phrase does not belong in the pledge, and should be removed.

I would ask all of you to think about this honestly - if the phrase that had been added had been "under Buddha", how comfortable would you feel with your children reciting it every day?

Separation of church and state was instituted by the very founding father's that everyone looks to as "proof" that this country was supposed to be christian. They didn't intend for this country to be christian or any other religion. They happened to be Christian themselves, but they extended the freedom of religion to ALL belief systems. I don't for a minute believe that they would have condone Eisenhower's abuse of his power to make all American's profess a belief in a God they may or may not believe in.

Now, give me a minute to get on my flak gear before y'all start firing at me! :(

Thank you everyone for the comments.:)
Starshine makes a very good point that I thought of after I went to bed. Religion is misused alot as we've seen from recent events and yes the fore fathers of our country came here for freedom of religion and freedom of speech. We all know that did not exactly practice what they preached, but the idea was there. I have not throughly studied any one religion, but I have read up on several different ones and one thing that almost always (not always, but almost) comes through is that there is one God. I guess the point I'm going for here is that the name depends on the religion, but the idea is basically the same, so why not supply the name you're used to in place of the word God. No said that it had to repeated verbatim and sometimes a substition is necessary, but to ban something just because a small group of people are offended is o take away others choice who do believe in it.
Personally, Starshine, I think you made a very good point and I really don't think anyone should be mad at you for speaking your beliefs. Thaks for taking the time to explain yourself!;)

You'll have to come & join us on here more often. We love your site & the fan fictions! (We love the other Freddie sites too!) :)

Wow, I had no idea that was added to the Pledge of Allegiance so late. I am learning new things on here. :)

I believe this nation was founded under the ONE NATION UNDER GOD principal & we are falling too far away from that. I also think that if the PLEDGE or School Prayer offends someone then they should sit silently & do whatever their tradition is but let those of us who believe in it have the freedom to practice it. That should please everyone I hope.

I think Freddie would've appreciated the diversity on here, had he been living now. I read somewhere where Freddie's dad had become an Agnostic even tho he'd been Jewish & he was very upset about it. I read a comment where he had about ti something to the tune of "Whatever my dad believes in dosn't have any reflection on me & may beliefs" or "doesn't reflect me & my beliefs". Something like that. From what I read about it, it really hurt Freddie because he had such faith in God. His mom said he always read his Bible every day. I did read where when Freddie died his father had a pastor. I thought that was odd he'd have a pastor when he was agnostic.

I though I'd put for here some of Freddies religious quotes as they are interesting. :)


Spiritual Wisdom From Freddie Prinze:

‘God is my manager. I don't make decisions without consulting Him"...

"I prayed today"...

"If it wasn't for God I would not be where I was... I leave my life in God's hands"...

"The only thing that sustained me (living in the kind of neighborhood he did) was my faith in the Lord"...

"And most of all thank God for all the blessings he has sent"...

"Make it your way, who can beat the Lord, the Son of God. Dear Lord, help me be strong where I am weak, if it be your will"...

"I go to the mountain & look at the stars. I see God at night & I find peace. I love the guy"...

"Help me with my problem. If You can hear me please, and if if be your will, give me grace"...

"What I leave to all the children after I am dead: You are all that is real & pure & no matter what you go through, strive to keep that. Regardless of your race or religion have faith.

1. Go for no temporary happiness.

2. Have faith & persevere.

3. And Love yourself & all your brothers! Believe"...

"Dear Lord, I am not afraid to die, but please let me live until I buy my Mother the house I promised for her so she can plant the flowers she loves"...

Freddie Prinze On LA: "For now it beats New York. At least the roaches has suntans"...

"Today I make a total dedication to comedy"...

Freddie Prinze Quotes About God:

"Without God I wouldn't be here now."

"I leave my life in Gods hands just as I always have."

"My mother raised me to put my life in the hands of God & I've always followed her advice. Believe me in the neighborhood I was raised, just about the only thing that sustained you was faith in the Lord."

"It suddenly hit me, people are forgetting who God is. They are going to church & praying, Dear Bingo I mean God."

"I want my career and my life to get as close to being perfect as possible and no human being is perfect. So as far as a moral manger for me is concerned-- and what decisions I make in my career-- I want my manager to be perfect & the only one I know is God. That's the way my mother raised me. Hey when I was 19 and 20 he did a lot for me! Without him I wouldn't be here."

"He's with me all the time, directs my thinking and my life, said the young man who thanks the Lord for taking him out of the ghetto and thrusting him into a position of sudden stardom as lead of one of NBC's top series."

"I would get to feeling so empty, and I would turn to God. I would get to feeling lonely, and I would turn to prayer."

When staying in motels he would read the Gideons Bible that was in the room he was staying in.
His quote on that is:
"And suddenly, I would have new strength. I would go to sleep and I would awaken full of enthusiasm and happy thoughts."

A magazine article once said about Freddie:

As far as he's concerned it's God and Only God who has directed him. Who has changed his way of thinking when he needed changing, who has bolstered & sustained him in times of need. He has achieved the wonder of knowing a Savior who walks by his side...

Not sure which topic this fits under so I'll put it here since it's kinda religious. There is a message boards thing on the internet called DELPHI where people can create their own message boards on any topic (it costs to make one up tho) & anyone can join them for free. I check out some of the message boards on there mainly diabetes & Monkees etc. They had on there where you can search the message boards for any subject so I searched for Freddie. Most of the search results were for Jr. I did find one on our guy. :) It was on a Bible Study message board. They had on there the birthdays of the day where you could see which star you share a birthday with & it listed Freddie's birthday on there. That was so sweet of the Bible study group to remember Freddies birthday. :) (Wipes tears from the corner of her eyes...) :heart: :crying: I better quit writing this cuz the end of my hankie is starting to get a little damp...