Posted on 04/05/2012 12:51:42 PM PDT by raccoonradio
BELLINGHAM (CBS) – A presentation at an elementary school in Bellingham will go on next week following a controversy in which the words of a patriotic song were changed.
Students at Stall Brook Elementary are doing a project on the 50 states and they planned to sing two songs at an assembly April 12. One was to be a tune about the states, and the other was the popular 1984 Lee Greenwood song “God Bless The USA.”
But someone changed the chorus of Greenwood’s song to “We love the USA” for the assembly.
That didn’t go over well with parents, who complained.
So, school officials decided there would be no singing at the assembly.
Lee Greenwood himself heard about the controversy and issued this statement:
“Maybe the school should have asked the parents their thoughts before changing the lyrics to the song. They could have even asked the writer of the song, which I of course would have said you can’t change the lyrics at all or any part of the song. The most important word in the whole piece of music is the word God, which is also in the title God Bless The USA. We can’t take God out of the song, we can’t take God out of The Pledge of Allegiance, we can’t take God off of the American currency. Let us also remember, the phrase God Bless the USA has a very important meaning for those in the military and their families, as well as new citizens coming to our Country. The song is played at every naturalization ceremony behind The National Anthem. If the song is good enough to played and performed in its original setting under those circumstances, it surely should be good enough for our children.”
Then on Thursday, Superintendent Edward Fleury issued a statement on the school website announcing yet another change.
The songs are back in and and they will sing Greenwood’s song the way it was written.
“Students will be allowed to sing or not sing the words “God Bless the USA” as they sing in celebration of their acquired knowledge. No other words will be substituted. We believe the use of the word God is acceptable in patriotic songs. The district has no intent to censor any patriotic songs. We are certainly sorry if this approach was perhaps considered as disrespectful. That was never the intent,” Fleury wrote in the letter to parents.
“It’s unfortunate that a small mis-understanding has snowballed to this level,” Bellingham School Committee member Cheryl Gray told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday.
“The Pledge of Allegiance is said daily in our classrooms, so, personally, I see no reason to have changed the lyrics of the song.”
Gray said she does not know why the lyrics were changed in the first place.
A total left-wing loon I happen to know moved to Bellingham back in the late 1990s. Her life pretty much fell apart there, but she stays there. Which is actually OK for me.
>>will be allowed to sing or not sing
so students are not obligated to sing that offensive G-word,
apparently.
Ah, the new Nationalism! No one comes before BigGovernment not even God!
(see my tagline)
Lee Greenwood should issue this followup statement:
“I’m sorry, this is too little, too late. You are expressly forbidden to sing my song at your school. You will have to deal with the disappointment of the children and the anger of their parents as a result of your abject stupidity. YOU brought this upon you own heads, deal with it yourselves without my song and your continued attempt to leave out its principal component.”
“...“It’s unfortunate that a small mis-understanding has snowballed to this level,”...
It’s not a “small understanding”.
It is yet another demonstration that liberals, and especially liberal “educators” are ignorant dorks.
The sooner they are fired, the better...so that they can do something more attuned to their education....ditch digger.
MAJORITY RULES!
The “public school” is BY FAR, the largest, most expensive, most subversive, and most destructive entitlement program in the country.
The “public school” is better understood as the “government school collective”.
It is silly to imagine that you can fix the public schools, because the very concept itself is communist.
Any child that comes out of the government school collective with their moral compass and common sense intact does so in spite of the government school indoctrination, not because of it.
If you want to win the culture war, have lots of children (see my tagline) and homeschool them or form your own school cooperative with your church or synagogue and like-minded friends and relatives.
Nobody loves your children more than you do.
Nobody can teach your children like you can.
Your children would love nothing better than to be taught by you, if you start doing so before they are corrupted by the government school collective.
It is hypocritical for you to submit your children to an authority with whom you fundamentally disagree. And your children will know it.
If you have children, make whatever sacrifices you must to get them out of the public schools.
DO NOT FEED THE BEAST!
Especially not with your own children.
“Gray said she does not know why the lyrics were changed in the first place”
I do.
Recently at my son’s school they did a winter music concert with the chorus singing “Wave Your Flag”. During rehearsals a teacher came into the gym and objected to the kids waving the American flag because “some students are from other countries”. The teacher was overruled and the American flags stayed in the show.
The public schools are nothing more than a money laundering operation for the Unions, while at the same time churning out more dumbed-down, students-turned-Democrat voters.
“
“It’s unfortunate that a small mis-understanding has snowballed to this level,” Bellingham School Committee member Cheryl Gray told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday.
“The Pledge of Allegiance is said daily in our classrooms, so, personally, I see no reason to have changed the lyrics of the song.”
Gray said she does not know why the lyrics were changed in the first place.”
In other words -
~We got caught.~
What will they do with “God Bless America?”
“During rehearsals a teacher came into the gym and objected to the kids waving the American flag because “some students are from other countries”.
Unbelievable. Months ago, my nephew was playing in a peewee football league and the coach said “we won’t start any prayer because (insert idiotic lib stuff)”
The team captain in his young age said “if you don’t mind coach, I’ll lead the prayer” and looked at everyone and said “you guys cool with that?”. Everyone said yes. It later reached the parents and the coach got a lecture he won’t forget.
They’ll turn it into obama Bless America..
Really? Really? Oh, thank you!!! (sarc)
The “real” Bellingham is in Washington State.
It is unbelievable. The teacher objected to the flag despite the fact there is :
1- American Flag in front of school on pole.
2- American Flag painting in school office.
3- American Flags in some classrooms.
I suspect this particular teacher is incensed at all these displays, but chose the school concert venue because it was open advocacy of the Flag by students.
Libs hate that ...
Well, find that person, grill him/her as to where they get off being a self-appointed censor and tell them they will be fired (if union, they will be "taunted a second time") and, at a minimum, a reprimand entered into their folder. Unless these people are slapped down, however softly (i.e. you are now being watched) they will continue to pull this crap.
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