The congress is the lawmaking body of the federal government. If people want to extrapolate meaning, they should only extrapolate that the government is not to establish. It is not to govern how and where religion is practiced.
If people in a local school board want to have the kids pray every fifteen minutes, it's not the fed's right to strike that down. If the feds think that it is, then they should rethink the provision of education in this nation, back out of it and let the local communities provide that education as it was always intended....."
My friend, IMHO, you have called it like it is. But, alas, I also suspect you (and I and a LOT of other folks) are whistling into the wind.
Why? Because the hand that takes is always beneath the hand that gives. To state and local governments Federal money is the very breath of life. He who pays the piper, calls the dance. IOW, all it takes is for the Fed. to say something like:
"Gee, you know, we don't think your idea about making kids pray every fifteen minutes is right. It's not fair. And, heck, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for us to give you that money you've been asking for,to build that new school. When you're just going to have kids do something we don't think is right.But on the other hand if you were to... "
And farewell pray in school.
I hear you and I agree.
The federal government takes too much money away from the local communities. The local communities should keep their money and run their own programs.
This is where conservatism has been let down the most by our federal leaders. This is what we should take them to the woodshed over.
Our leaders should understand that where the federal government takes over, the quality of a project will break down, and the most funds will be wasted. It also lends itself to the introduction of the socialist ideal. Big mistake.
Thanks for the comments.
Actually the average European is as bigoted, narrow-minded and parochial as they claim Middle America is - the only differenced is that the Euros are so emasculated and defenseless that they can't do anything about it so they whine because Americans haven't given up their will and ability to fight back against those who want to kill them, those who want to steal their hard-earned income and those who want to force 'tolerance' of intolerable acts and beliefs!