I'm visiting my Mom in Oak Ridge right now. Staying at the house I grew up in.
What's weird is that a couple of years ago a middle-age acquaintance told me they went to school at Linden. As a teenager, I had watched that school being built across the street from us. Felt like a time warp - not to mention feeling old.
I thought you missed the part about Oak Ridge. Thanks for your clarification.
Hurricanes wreak havoc in Texas and Florida, killing dozens. Earthquakes kill dozens more in Mexico. Wild fires ravage western states and threaten major metropolitan areas like Los Angles.
Petty tyrants threaten our nation with nuclear strikes. A US Senator stands trial on bribery charges. Americans in uniform are dying in far-flung countries to keep Islamic extremists from revisiting terror on the American homeland.
Yet, it appears that some in our midst cannot prioritize the enormity of events in just the last few weeks. Presumably, the import of history older than that is completely lost on them, as well. Rather, it seems the most vital thing in their lives is to complain about trivialities.
Ostensibly, a music teacher in the fair city of Oak Ridge exposed students to a portion of the most famous oratorio in history: the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Besides the Hebrew word, “hallelujah,’” that piece of music contains the phrase: “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
Mystifyingly, objecting to that “heinous offense” is suddenly the most essential thing to worry about in some peoples’ lives. Evidently, it occupies more of their thoughts and efforts than floods, earthquakes, wildfires and wars.
As a result, some very clear questions arise: Can music created by one of the most famous composers of the last three centuries, enjoyed by millions, abruptly become offensive? Performed publicly in countless American venues since its creation, can it suddenly become an anathema to the Constitution?
Is the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional because it contains references to Nature’s God and a Creator? How about the Star Spangled Banner and its fourth verse statement “… in God is our trust”?
Where does the irrationality end? Astronomy is taught in public schools. By the complainers’ logic, astronomy must be banned because the planets are named for Greco-Roman gods… Obviously, that is a blatant, state endorsement of religion.
Similarly, constellations named for religious myths cannot be used for navigation of government-owned ships and aircraft. Furthermore, using a navigational chronograph must be forbidden since it is named for the Greco-Roman god, Chronos… another all-too-recognizable state endorsement of religion.
In deed, four days of the week are named for Norse gods and another for a Greco-Roman god. Since calendars come with these religious endorsements and are used throughout schools and government, must we ban them as well?
Is the absurdity of complaining about Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus clear enough, yet? Rather than fretting over trivialities, let us help American families losing loved ones and suffering from natural disasters, wars and terrorism.