Father Knows Best

I

ibear

Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Messages
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Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.
:) :) :)
"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy-it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves.

"I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and reek havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat, such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. "Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes-He did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by
those students be in vain.

Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA - I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! - Darrell Scott
 
Wonderful sentiments, Ibear, but Nasty will have to move the thread to the Cantina.

Hee hee. Glad I'm not a mod.

munk
 
Thats a tough call for a father to make . Seems like a pretty well balanced individual . A rare thing these days .
 
Amen. Love the poem too.
 
We have refused to honor God?
What does that mean? We must declare the USA to be a Chrsitian nation and require everyone to dress an speak and act according to some clergy-determined religious way ?
Why not just move to Afghanistan?

You cannot require people to be good. You can't force children to stop being the cruel, sadistic assholes that they can be, especially in grade school and middle school. What happened at Columbine was no mystery to me, I had similar fantasies...

The price of a free, diverse and dynamic democracy is constant vigilance, hard work and responsibility. Either we pay the price or we lose it.
 
There is one father who is able to think clearly despite horrific tradgedy.

This country was founded on freedom of religion. Our early history included this belief in its doctrine. Belief in God is what makes / made this country great.

Everyone is free to choose his / her own diety but there is a divine energy that must not be ignored or denied. There is strength in prayer and praying helps one to be a good person. Prayer in school should never have been outlawed!!!!
 
Danny,

I took it to mean that they've gone too far with legislating this and that in the name of protecting our freedoms so that now we're approaching less freedom than ever. Yes he's talking about prayer in schools, but its just one example. I don't advocate forced prayer in schools, but the students should be free to pray as necessary per their own judgement. For whichever religion they wish. Problem is that there is now such a glut of law that rights and freedoms being trampled is hard to see and define. These, our current congressional leaders, are nothing like our forefathers. They've no guts, they stand for nothing. I thought the poem stuck it to them real good.

Andy
 
Danny,

I think the core of what he was saying (at least as I interpret it) was that we are ignoring the spiritual component of ourselves to our own detriment. I don't think we need forced prayer or a mandated christian code of conduct by any means. But the knowledge that they are part of something bigger than themselves--no, the knowledge that we ALL are part of something bigger--call it life force,god,the creator,evolutionary drive, whatever--the simple idea that there is something more important than what the cheerleaders say about you behind your back or your teacher's cruel words, is a very important idea.

"constant vigilance" has it's place and I think that is part of our responsibility. However, there is a much deeper problem with our kids--the sense of deadness they feel inside that allows them to shoot one another every day in this country. All the metal detectors in the world won't protect them from themselves. Especially not when they put the guns to their own heads.
 
it is hard to see, if you dont study these things, that , in the old days, religion WAS government.
We now have our own governments that function well without threat of damnation.
I am not for forced prayer, but i am against forbidding prayer.
as long as the students do it themselves and no teacher
(or other representative of our government) there shouldnt be a problem.

A few years back there was some football team in Texas that decided to pray during the game when someone was injured. Some liberals got upset but really, there wasnt anything anybody could do since it was students doing it on their own.

We live in a society that pushes for achievement early, probably too early for most people. By the time you are 21, most people are already 3/4 done with college.
Im 35 and I still dont know for sure what I want to be when I grow up.

I tell you what though, being a big guy in public school made me a target for the football team scouts, and you better believe they prowl the middle schools and even elementary schools. I said no, I like spanish and music.
I didnt get straight A's and I didnt play on their precious football team, so I was worthless to the system.
The system chews up and spits out people like me. That would be OK if the law didnt require us to go back to school even when the students and teachers have made it clear that we are not wanted.

How's prayer going to change that ?

You want to prevent another Columbine? Get rid of the professional sports syndicate whose tentacles reach down into our middle schools. ( thats not a joke nor an exaggeration)
Start paying attention to what's happening in the classrooms and the hallways and not just passing out tests and then grading them.
When you see the abuse happen, no matter how small, you crack down on those kids, no matter how many yards they can rush or how many A's they get.
 
I had very similar experiences in school Danny. I was just too small for the coaches to give a snot about. Made b's and c's, mostly b's though. Didn't try very hard. And I still don't know what I wanna do either at 33. I see your point too, the education system is a big ole failure on many levels. But I can't see how these legislators have aided in anything but its downfall. Do away with the federal Education dept, and leave it to the communities, so those Washingtonians have no hands in the pot. Thats my take anyway. YMMV.
 
I understand where you are coming from, Danny. Football is HUGE in Texas (along with everything, so i hear;)). I could not even imagine. At my school, sports were pretty distant, really. well, at least the mainstream ones were. We were very good at diving and cross country. I was a football player, but I had a positive experience with it. Not because I gained social standing (people thought i was a little scary....my wife and I are still trying to figure that one out:rolleyes: :confused: ) I also didn't gain anything from it from a scholarship standpoint. I was every bit of 160lbs and was starting defensive tackle. No, not 260. 160. Not college ball material right there;)

However, the one thing that I did get out of highschool sports (football especially) was self discipline, team work, and coming together for a greater cause. You see, we got our asses handed to us EVERY STINKIN' TIME. In all my years of playing from the 7th grade to the 12th, our BEST season was 5-5. We sucked. However it didn't matter. We still had fun, worked hard, and learned about putting the team's goals ahead of your own. Besides, the "gods" of football in our town would just get t-shirts or jackets made with what they did as a 17 year old. Then, slowly the colors would fade. The edges would fray, and the grease stains would collect from working at one of the gas stations in our 7,400 populated town. I think I know of ONE guy that went on to play a full 4 years of college ball, and by God did he deserve it.

Highschool sports have their place. However, i think the good they create is limitted to the size of the school. We have a school in town with 2500 kids or so. The starting line up for the football team can barely read. My old school had 900 kids. Most of the guys I played with are put together pretty well (great IT jobs, plant management, Teacher/coach....pool guy;)).

Jake
 
We all carry "baggage" from our youth. We need to rid ourselves of the excess guilt, anger, frustration and bad feelings.

Prayer and meditation can help in this regard. School should be one source for direction but not total in "house" mind control.
 
Baggage from our youth.. That's funny.

The last year I was in high school, one of the cheerleaders' moms in a local town tried to hire a hitman (undercover cop) to kill the mom of one of the other girls trying out for the cheerleading squad.

How about we all just take a pill that kills off our memory and we can start each day over as a new person? Everybody sew your name on your underwear and draw a map to work and a brief description of your duties. every day will be your first day all over again!
Doesn't that sound great?
 
DannyinJapan said:
Baggage from our youth.. That's funny.

The last year I was in high school, one of the cheerleaders' moms in a local town tried to hire a hitman (undercover cop) to kill the mom of one of the other girls trying out for the cheerleading squad.

How about we all just take a pill that kills off our memory and we can start each day over as a new person? Everybody sew your name on your underwear and draw a map to work and a brief description of your duties. every day will be your first day all over again!
Doesn't that sound great?
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Nope, not great at all. Kinda stupid.;)
 
When I was a kid in school we had to say the pledge of allegiance every day, practice hiding under our desks in case the Russians bombed us, and got dragged to Sunday school against our wills every Sunday. None of this ever made us religious, patriotic or particularly worried about being nuked.

When we got pi$$ed at each other we rolled around in the dirt but nobody ever needed medical attention afterward. We didn't have video games though. Kids now play video games similar if not identical to the ones the Army uses in Ranger school, and I think that may be part of the problem.
 
Good kids are the result of good parenting. Race, religion, ethnic backgrounds all aside, loving parents that stay involved with their children, that teach their children right from wrong and how to live in this world, that have the backbone to tell their children "NO" when no is the right answer, that's the so called "answer" to the "problem". How much of the student on student cruelty that goes on in high school stems from the fact that those kids weren't raised right? That they act improperly is a product of growing up without a strong hand to guide them in how to act properly. Parents don't take the time to be real parents when children need them most, those formative years leading up to adolescence. Instead, they treat their children like pets, lavishing them with gifts and indulging their whims, to compensate for not giving them what they really need, time, attention, understanding, guidance, and support.
When you've got a country full of kids growing up without a father, and many without a father or mother, instead being raised by a grandmother or an aunt, don't try to tell me the problem with kids these days stems from sports, religion, the NRA, or video games. Kids aren't the problem, parents are. :mad:

Sarge
 
Sylvrfalcn said:
That they act improperly is a product of growing up without a strong hand to guide them in how to act properly.
Click to expand...

Now you went and jogged another memory of the '50's. Me and my Pards all got regular beatings to guide us down the paths of righteousness and if pediatricians noticed the result they didn't raise any fuss. If current laws were in force at the time, our folks would be coming up for parole right about now. A strong influence is good, but a strong hand can be a little risky these days.
 
cliff355 said:
Now you went and jogged another memory of the '50's. Me and my Pards all got regular beatings to guide us down the paths of righteousness and if pediatricians noticed the result they didn't raise any fuss. If current laws were in force at the time, our folks would be coming up for parole right about now. A strong influence is good, but a strong hand can be a little risky these days.
Click to expand...


You may have overlooked where I mentioned "loving parents that stay involved". A truly loving parent might occasionally resort to a belt or a switch if deemed absolutely necessary to reinforce a point, neither of those ever did me any real harm. The real beatings occur when parents use them as an outlet for other angers, frustrations, and dissappointments, and consequently take them out on their children. My parents whipped me, but they never ever beat me, and there is a major difference. A good parent can gauge the effectiveness of their approach, not by how often they discipline their children, but by how often they don't have to.

Sarge
 
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