How Secularizany Are We?

You want to know how crazy we’ve become? We’re so crazy that when a kid sneezes, teachers feel they have to ask the Superintendent of schools whether they’re allowed to say “Bless you.”

Come on. That’s got to be at least reason number 5,673 why parents might want to consider a Catholic school or homeschooling.

Thankfully, the Superintendent approved the use of “Bless you” as long as they don’t really mean it but just the fact that this was a serious question is a sign that we are so far down the path of insanity that we can’t even see sane from here. And get this, teachers are saying they’re unsure what they’re allowed to do in their off hours.

Weasel Zippers had the story:

“It is confusing,” said Debbie Lewis, a paraprofessional at S.S. Dixon Primary School. “We are under the impression you cannot say ‘bless you’ or ‘God bless you,’ which is a natural reaction.”

With a new school year set to begin Aug. 23, some employees and the public remain unsure about what religious expressions are allowed under a consent decree that prohibits employees from promoting their religious beliefs to students in class, or during or in conjunction with a school event.

Saying, “God bless you,” after a sneeze, by the way, is OK, according to the district. Such a brief statement is not likely to be seen as promoting someone’s religious beliefs, a key point when considering what the decree does and does not allow.

Still, in some circles, confusion remains.

“Teachers are even confused about what they can do on their own time and after hours,” said Robert Smith, owner of Robert Smith Insurance Agency in Milton.

So if a child sneezes in school and a teacher says “bless you” it’s cool because they don’t really mean anything about God actually blessing the child, it’s just a reflex.