Silence != Prayer

LAT covers a bitching session in Illinois where atheists are angry over a moment of silence in school because they think it breaches the separation of church and state.

To their defense, the moment is for "reflection and student prayer".

While normally I'd be all over making sure we keep prayer out of school, and making sure kids don't feel awkward and isolated for not praying, I really don't feel that this fits at all.

But its for reflection and prayer.

And it is silent.

Kids aren't about to be singled out for not praying along with their friends, or for sitting while everyone else is standing. Everyone just shuts up for a minute.

I'm sure that if they had instead called it a Moment of Reflection and talked up how the kids would have time to reflect on their day, or their studies, or mediate, or just relax and be less stressed, etc, then there would be no problem.

And there's no freakin difference anyway.

An atheist student who's part of the dispute says, "My one friend was really angry because he liked having that moment to think about his life. He's going through a tough time. His parents are getting divorced. His brother's not very nice to him."

... basically hurting her entire argument. So just let everyone sit quietly for a minute and everyone will chill and take a deep breath and it'll be nice.