A? - Friday, November 23, 1984 - North Shore News BE mailbox | >< | Editorial on prayer praised OPEN LETTER TO THE SUN AND PROVINCE Although not generally in- clined to publicly express my point of view, recent editorials, articles and letters pmnted relative to Section 164 of the B.C. Schools Act, e., prayer in public schools, have caused more than moderate concern. The ma- jority of these comments have consisted of a gross mis- representation of the issue and achieve little in providing a balanced point of view backed up by meaningful facts. Some writers would have us believe that to be in sup- port of prayer in schools is anti-minority, anti-Canadian and in favor of public strife arising from adherence Christian expression. This. 1s most certainly pure poppy- cock. All too often nowadays the complacent majority has been manoeuvred into a posi- uuon of second place to the views Of a vocal minority which has managed to en- shrine its preferences in our public institutions. Loose teferences to the Charter of Rights coupled with the pretext of championing for the welfare and protection of minorities have become the norm in a majority of these cases. Some of the authors even profess that they are, of course, firm supporters of Christianity. A pertinent editorial ap- peared in the 7 November issue of the North Shore Mindless terror From Page A&6 violence 1s often blurred in Lebanon. It is a society with a weak, powerless central government and where every faction sees truth in its Own ideology and its own survival as paramount. Moreover, many acts of terror are not perpetrated for political reasons at all, only cloaked in political rhetoric. The intended victim might be deemed to have the wrong business associates or chentele. There is a huge pro- tection racket in Betrut, perhaps someone failed to pay up to a Jocal militia. There 1s always a= politteal justification Terrorismis a fact of lifein today’s world Spectacular attacks on predictable targets, bke that on the American embassy, are preventable through sensible and established = security measures Ultimately, car bombings hke those I saw in the streets of Beirut are the daily reality of that city and aie unpreventable Vhey are part of the mindless, coward ly terror that is a tact of life in, Berrut Labaaz “sbutreaaze ANE Sbvaa bSeob baat Ae cotbaee Hoaerrivans “~~ VIEW 1999 Marine | beatae a 000000000000000000000000000000000 AUCTION Genuine }land Knotted Persian & Oriental Rugs LOO) bots froma Vartkours « OLISTOP TORS ty all sizes Lee orative Colours & Adestans uae Sunday Nov. 25 12 (neon) Aucthon FF 3O . Lritereationval Phaza Edeoted [ >; (Hugh Wilson, presently a West Vancouver resident, is a Middle East scholar and free lance journalist who recently returned from reporting assignments in Beirut and Israel.) CERAMIC TILE WALL & FLOOR TILE 75° 1%” x 1\”’ Mosaic SM series $149 Mon-Sat. 9:30-5:30 2M KD" ROSEN TILE & CERAMICS LTD. 149. West 3rd N. Vancouver 980-4633 980-2218 Pdearraerchars baer vac but | than firve quality protec North Was POI AD, News, copy enclosed for your reference with this paper’s verbal permission. This arti- cle is well expressed, backed up by facts and 1s certainly the best commentary on the subject to date. In the interest of those in favour of prayer in our schools and those who are nevertheless supportive of balanced and thoughtful ar- ticles on matters of interest to the community, it would be beneficial to reprint this item and | hope it is, we all stand to gain from decisions based on realistic reasoning and facts instead of drummed up hype. {commend Mr. Nigel Bart- telot for his conviction and public stand that the law be obeyed, West Vancouver School Superintendent, Mr. Ed Carlin, for doing exactly that and the author of the North Shore News editorial for providing a commentary worthy of print. Prayers lead to ‘racism’ Dear Editor { have been following the story of re-introducing Bible readings into the classroom. When | was in public school, it was still common practice to have these readings, and we also had to sing hymns. My sister and I were the only Jewish children in the school. She was made to stand in the corner for refusing to sing ‘‘Jesus Loves Me.”’ 1 feel that, if there are to be readings, they should be taken from not only the Bi- ble, but from the Koran, the Torah, the sayings of wise men and women, even quota- tions from comedians! Children should learn that wisdom and= greatness can come from individuals of any bacRground. To lhmuiut the readings to the Chrisuan Bible is to. en- courage feelings of superiori- ty, hence racism. Elizabeth Volpe North Vancouver 000000000000000000000000000000000 in your newspapers. Whether or not prayer 1s re-instituted in our schools H.J. Radshun North Vancouver 20 color trak remote FKR 474 14x L100 *268 Super Buy > font EVERYONE LOVES BRASS!!! Over 5,000 beautiful ever lasting gift ideas from $2.00 to $2,000 SUPER SPECIALS an incredible selection of BRASS LAMPS AT 3% Off and a wide v vaniety Of ever so Comfortable BRASS BEDS at 0°. 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