PoppaGringo Loc: Muslim City, Mexifornia, B.R.

A Florida high school student was disciplined after a national atheist organization took offense when he concluded the morning announcements by saying “God Bless America.”

A spokesperson for the Nassau County School District told me the student at Yulee High School deviated from the approved script on the morning of Feb. 9th and uttered the words “God Bless America” -- apparently causing angst among two atheist students.

“It wasn’t part of the scripted morning announcements,” district spokesperson Sharyl Wood said. “The principal took the appropriate steps in speaking with the student and disciplining the student.”

Disciplining the student? What’s the penalty these days for asking God to bless America – 30 lashes?
Disciplining the student? What’s the penalty these days for asking God to bless America – 30 lashes?

Instead of reporting their angst to the principal, the atheist students reached out to the American Humanist Association. The AHA’s legal arm – the Appignani Humanist Legal Center -- fired off a testy letter to the principal and school district on the students’ behalf.

“It is inappropriate and unlawful for a public school to start the school day with an official statement over the intercom stating, ‘God Bless America,’ for such a statement affirms God-belief, validates a theistic worldview and is invidious toward atheists and other nonbelievers,” the American Humanist Association wrote in a letter to the principal of Yulee High School.

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The AHA said the student violated the Constitution and broke the law by invoking God’s name over the public address system. They demanded the school immediately cease and desist under the threat of a lawsuit.

“The daily validation of the religious views of God-believers resigns atheists to second-class citizens,” the AHA wrote in their letter. “Because attendance is mandatory, the students have no way of avoiding this daily message either.”

Later that day – the AHA received a mea culpa from the principal assuring them such behavior would not happen again.

Here’s the letter Principal Natasha Drake wrote to the AHA:

“Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. I want to point out that the statement "God Bless America, keep us safe" that was made last week on the morning announcements was not approved by school Administration nor was it in the scripted announcements. The student on his own accord made the statement. I have called the student in this morning and directed him that at no time is he to add or take away from announcements that have been pre-approved and that if he did it again, he would no longer have the privilege of making the morning announcements. I am disappointed that the students who filed the complaint did not do so with me first, as I would have addressed it immediately. Once again, thank you for bringing this concern to my attention. It is our desire and intention to respect the beliefs and constitutional freedoms of all our students at Yulee High School.”

So why in the world does the school district have a problem with God blessing America?

“As an official representative of a governmental agency, schools aren’t allowed to promote or inhibit religion,” Wood told me. “Individual students are certainly permitted to express their religious beliefs but not on behalf of the governmental body.”

She explained that once the student delivered the morning announcements, the student became a representative of the government and therefore invoking God to bless our fruited plain became a no-no.

Sweet Lord almighty, good readers.

“We can’t say God bless America or hail to Muslims – nobody can get up there and say there is no God,” Wood explained. “We have respect for all people’s faiths and religions.”

The school district is also a frustrated that the atheist students declined to speak directly to school leadership. However, the kids apparently feared repercussions.

“We have an anonymous tip line the students could have used to make a report,” Wood said.

Of course they do – because you never know when you might need to report a student for suddenly shouting “bless you” after a teacher sneezes.

I asked Jeremy Dys, an attorney with Liberty Institute to weigh in on this nonsense and he said the atheists don’t have a prayer.

"Whether a student is being patriotic or engaging in religious speech, there is no law in this country forbidding a student from telling his or her classmates, ‘God bless America’ and it is illegal for a school to censor a student for doing so,” he said.

Dys also wonders why atheists are so hell-bent on trying to censor the patriotic speech of a red-blooded American high school student.

“Regardless of this attempt by secularists to white wash over this demonstration of patriotism by a teenager, America’s students do not give up their right to free speech and the expression of their religious beliefs when they go to school,” he said.

I’d still like to know how they disciplined the morning announcement reader for such an egregious act – but the district spokesperson refused to tell me.

Lord love ‘em but I’m not sure what’s worse – perpetually offended atheists or constitutionally ignorant educators.

Forkbassman Loc: Missouri

I'm curious; what happens to a teacher there who wears a small cross necklace and/or bracelet to school?

Hemiman Loc: Communist California

They are beheaded.

lusitanean

A clear case of political correctness. Or better yet, of "liberal" dictatorial, c****e crap correctness. Nothing brings as much joy to the sick minds of these sickoes than to force their will upon all other citizens. An that joy is doubled when they see that the rest of the citizenry, who should fight for their right to express themselves freely in a free society, cower like the bovines that seem to be forming the majority of this onnce proud nation. When are we the people of the United States going to regain our p***e of country and start to fight these treasonous so called liberals and send them into oblivion? Tomorrow may be too late.

Rufus Loc: Deep South

I was thinking the same thing. It is bad and getting worse. If these young people were allowed to study their history they would find America is a Christian nation begun by Christians. The reason we became the greatest country in the world is because we asked God to be the head of America and to lead us and guide us. Up until recently our representatives prayed when they met and continued to ask God's guidance. We are suffering the consequences for turning away from God as a country. The evidence is happening lightning fast. I am 56 and cannot believe how fast the moral decline of America has happened. It has really gotten bad quickly under the muslim in the White House who is not even our president. Wild stuff. It is a crying shame. It truly is.

badbobby Loc: texas

if that had been one of my kids
the principal woulda got an ass kickin
and then he coulda sued me
what is our nation becoming????
are we goin to the dogs,the atheists,or the islamists??
wake up America
these i***ts are taking our country away from us
and to think that I,among many other patriotic Americans fought for the right for these i***ts to tell us that we cant offend anyone

well bulls**t!!!!!!
its time we start taking our country back

badbobby Loc: texas

GOD BLESS AMERICA
AND IF I OFFENDED YOU
SUE ME

badbobby Loc: texas

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

lusitanean

As herein stated before I'm 89 years old and this is surely not the country I fought for as a volunteer. The c****e and the n**is were the enemy then. The red f*****ts, the "liberals" have taken over our country. Because we allowed them. The gods first make mad those they want to destroy. And they seem to be doing a good job.

badbobby Loc: texas

as one ww2 vet to another
kudos
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

MarvinSussman

If your god is all-knowing, she must know your thoughts and wishes. If you want to be blessed, just think it and your god will know. There is no need to say it out loud and upset rational people with your irrationality.

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Bless you, son, for you have sinned.

Hemiman Loc: Communist California

We don't say it out loud to rational people,it's people like you we have to say it out loud.

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

Let me tell you something right now punk. You do not have the right to tell me what to say and when to say it.

If you don't like that, then just shove it up your arse, sit on it and whine like a b***h, but do it over there in the corner, by yourself.

Dumb-Ass

Rufus Loc: Deep South

Everything he said was rational. More importantly it is true. Rational people embrace t***h. It does not upset them. Only irrational people are upset by t***h.