No reason to be up in arms about players’ prayer

STEVE SMITH

If you think life is tough, try being a kid.

Yeah, yeah, I know you’ve got places to go, people to see, things

to do and bills to pay, but that’s part of growing up. Kids are

supposed to be kids: carefree, creative and sometimes foolish.

Instead, we’ve given them a world in which it’s hard to know what

to do.

We’ve told kids that hanging out at the mall is bad, even though

they’re not breaking any laws. The food we’ve tempted them with,

which is located in fast food restaurants on what seems to be every

street corner, is also bad.

Their air is dirty, the water they drink needs to be treated

before they drink it, and some vaccines they’ve been given may have

serious side effects.

The roads they’ll inherit are already clogged. There is a war in

Iraq that is far from over, even though it was declared over. As a

result, our enemies hate us even more.

The threat of a nuclear attack, which had been lessened after the

end of the Cold War and the fall of the USSR, is now on the rise.

Kids can’t tease, bully or even look at another kid the wrong way.

That’s reserved for adults.

They can’t wear certain clothes because they may be gang-related

or offensive to someone

And to top it off, there’s a fanatical local columnist who doesn’t

believe they should watch TV or play video games.

There’s all that. But if you’re a football player at Newport

Harbor High School there’s even more. Those athletes aren’t even

allowed to pray on their own time.

The brouhaha started when the Pilot published a photo of the

football team in a prayer circle after a recent loss. When the photo

was identified as such, the polar opposite of the religious right

crawled out to remind us of the separation of church and state and

that this activity should not be taking place in anything related to

a public school setting.

First, it is important to note that this prayer circle took place

on private, not public, property. That the boys were wearing school

uniforms was the only thing connecting them to a public school.

Second, here’s what usually goes on in a football prayer circle

before a game: Teams usually do not ask God to take sides. They ask

God for guidance that they may always do the right thing, even in the

heat of a tight game.

They offer thanks for the physical ability to participate in the

sport and for the opportunity to play in the big game.

After a game, it’s usually just “thank you, thank you, thank you,”

mostly for making it through the game in one piece.

Still got a problem with that?

If so, here’s a scenario and a question designed to determine your

priorities.

Imagine that on a scale of one to 10.

Take a moment and determine where the praying players fit in this

scenario.

Is this a 10? I doubt that even the most serious church and state

separation advocates would say that this issue is a 10.

So, is it a nine? An eight?

No, this is not even a one.

This is such a nothing issue that the amount of time being spent

on it is shocking.

Guess what? Soldiers in Iraq -- the ones that are being paid by

our government to fight -- are praying every day, sometimes more than

once a day.

How’s that for church and state separation? Anyone want to tell

them to stop?

It’s interesting, too, to note how the free speech advocates

disappear when prayer issues arise. What a hoot!

Here’s the bottom line: Praying after a football game is not a

crime, it’s not immoral, and it should not be offensive in any way to

anyone.

Besides, at least we know where our kids are.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664.