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God Bless America
By Jerry L. Ginther
One thing that comes to mind when I reflect on the schools in Sullivan was what was located at the top of the stairs at the east entrance of Lowe School. On the wall at the top of the stairs there was a plaque depicting the Ten Commandments. If memory serves, I believe an identical plaque was posted on the opposite wall as well, so, no matter which side of the stairs you ascended you would see one or the other. I suppose that sticks in my memory, because I do not recall there being such a display in the other school buildings in town. There may have been, but if so they were not so prominently displayed. At Lowe you would see them each morning or any other time you topped the stairs. I'm unaware if they remained as long as the building was in use, but they were there in 1955, the year I entered the fourth grade. Those plaques are in part responsible for the remainder of this article.
Now, I won't suppose that seeing the Ten Commandments each morning had any effect on my behavior for the day, but what impresses me at this moment is the fact that I remember they were there. It is unlikely that you will see those or any Christian symbol in many of our public schools today. However, another place I remember where they were on display is in the United States Supreme Court courtroom. During the summer of 1966, I was on temporary duty at Ft. Dix, NJ for three months, and had the opportunity to visit Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia and our nation's capitol, Washington D.C. Among all of the sites there were to see in D.C., I visited that courtroom. The Ten Commandments are posted on the doors at the entrance to the room and above the head of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Another impressive event that should not go unmentioned here is the fact that each session of Congress begins in prayer. A paid preacher whose salary is paid by us, the taxpayer, leads this prayer. It troubles me somewhat that our elected officials are allowed to pray for guidance in their daily endeavors, but there is an all out campaign to prevent our teachers and school children from doing the same. Could anyone honestly say that they see an improvement in the direction of this country since the courts began trying to remove God from every aspect of our lives? We've stood idly by while activist judges have tried to do just that, and when God leaves everything that is righteous and holy will leave with him. When other nations have turned their backs on God, he let them go. Prayer must sustain a nation born in prayer. We used to be a thankful people, unashamed to thank God for all that we had. Well, things have obviously changed. Things that once made us ashamed are now flaunted before the eyes of a nation that was conceived in the fear of God. It didn't happen overnight, and it wasn't forced on us. It happened because we didn't care; we just didn't care. Let us now exercise one of our few remaining rights; Get out and VOTE in November. It does matter and you will feel better just knowing that you did your part by showing that you CARE.
Copyright © 2002 - 2015 Jerry Ginther, All rights reserved worldwide
