Remarkable Obituary

[Duck on Wheels]

I hate to get serious in the humor thread area, but ...
common sense is not necessarily consistent. Common sense can also be self-contradictory. Just try comparing old common sense sayings like "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and "out of sight, out of mind". Both make perfect common sense. The commonsensical art of it is to know when the one or the other applies ... which in this instance probably depends on how fond the heart is to start with.

As to the points in the "obituary", I would agree with most, but I beg to differ with some. For instance, the Ten Commandments are not "contraband". You can even teach them, as factual knowledge about culture, in class. You just can't teach them in a public school class as "God's truth". This is because the Founding Fathers, in all their commonsensical wisdom, decided that religion is one thing and science another, and that public schools should focus on science and refrain from taking sides in religious issues, since this then-new country was supposed to be a haven for religious freedom of choice. So yes, in terms of teaching world cultures and religions as a set of observations about what folks believe in, you may go ahead and teach the Ten Commandments. But please don't proselatize about them. That still, to my mind, makes common sense.

[Kitsune06]

Hear,Hear.

Not all changes are bad, though. We've made some pretty decent jumps in common sense as far as human rights go (depending on where you live)

[mimitabby]

As to the points in the "obituary", I would agree with most, but I beg to differ with some. For instance, the Ten Commandments are not "contraband". You can even teach them, as factual knowledge about culture, in class. You just can't teach them in a public school class as "God's truth". This is because the Founding Fathers, in all their commonsensical wisdom, decided that religion is one thing and science another, and that public schools should focus on science and refrain from taking sides in religious issues, since this then-new country was supposed to be a haven for religious freedom of choice. So yes, in terms of teaching world cultures and religions as a set of observations about what folks believe in, you may go ahead and teach the Ten Commandments. But please don't proselatize about them. That still, to my mind, makes common sense.

want to hear something REALLY funny? the politician who made such a big deal about having the 10 commandments placque on public property could not recite them!!

[Nanci]

Where I live, everyone has a cardboard sign with the 10 Commandments on it in their front yard.

Please don't turn my post into another church thread!

Nanci