Chris, Jason,
Gather 'round. Everyone, indeed. It's story time. Did anyone forget a sleeping bag? I have an extra, it's Little Mermaid, in the linen closet.
I live in
central Oklahoma. Otherwise known as
The Bible Belt. I witness things that most can not even imagine every day. Every. Day.
School is where much of the population acts out their ignorance. We are required to have permission slips signed in order to learn about evolution and the HIV/AIDS virus. If anyone is uncomfortable with these topics, they are free to leave the classroom at any time.
I am extremely uncomfortable learning about the area of a Parallelogram. However, if I were to walk out mid-class, I would be reported instantly and would promptly receive ASD (after school detention) for three + days.
Don't think the "religious" type refuse to use this double standard to their advantage. I know of many students who have no problem engaging in premarital sex, taking part in 'recreational' drug and alcohol use and who could out-curse a sailor any day of the week that have walked out due to "moral reasons." Hmph.
Living in a state where Blue-Laws are notorious for being insanely pointless (it's illegal to walk backwards eating a hamburger in downtown OKC on Sunday, for instance) has prohibited me from doing daily activities out of respect for the Christian population. Inhabiting a town that produces a result of 161 churches (that's only my zipcode), according to YellowPages.com, has made me witness the power of many over the few. Attending a school wherein the students are allowed to remain ignorant about a deadly and rapidly spreading virus, skip out and various chapters in World History and Biology, refuse stay after school on Wednesdays (church sessions) and have a moment of prayer each morning I see the effects of fundamentalism and over-zealous religious folk daily. The attitudes of the people I'm surrounded with amaze me...Contradictions, hypocrisy. It never fails.
You've never seen
religious until you've visited the mid-west.