Wow

I mentioned before the power of music in the last blog. It can move us to tears or laughter. It can conjure up our greatest moments of pain or joy.

One song that my students wanted to sign was 'Imagine'. It would have been great because the words are simple, the tempo is slow and the meaning is positive. However, when that song was chosen overwhelmingly by the kids and me, it was vetoed by the principal. Why? Because of this one lyric. -

And no religion too.

So, today I was reading the paper and there was an article about a billboard in Rancho Cucamonga. The city asked the billboard company to take it down because they'd received complaints. This is the billboard:

Is their faith in God so shaky and limited and unsure that a simple message must be removed? What if it made someone ask a question? Isn't exploration of our beliefs the best way to confirm them and make them stronger? I guess that is only if they are firmly established in our being.

I found it ironic that this happened on the same day I read that the Vatican had finally forgiven John Lennon. When you're playing catch up to the Catholic Church in forgiving people who have offended your beliefs (Copernicus, Galileio, John Lennon, Dame Edna, etc), you are really backward. Even God must be rolling his eyes in disbelief at the fragility of their beliefs!

**Note: I first read about this offense on the Freedom of Speech this morning. Then, I planned how to make it blog worthy. THEN as I signed on tonight, I read what my bro Chris blogged over at Max's Dad. Great minds, bro....Great minds!