Evening star., 1962-04-25
Concerning Prayer
Surely Constantine Brown

expresses the conviction of
many uneasy Americans:
That it is not the advent of
the nuclear age nor the rising
power of Soviet Russia which
holds the greatest danger to
our country, but the thinking
expressed by the small band
of atheists in America who
would forbid our school chill
dren the right to recite a
simple prayer. If this move
now before the Supreme
Courts successful, then in
deed the future Of America is
in great peril.
Lest we be confused into
believing that the question is
one Of honest concern with
the possibility of ending a
particular religious creed, it
seems important that we
keep before us the little
prayer which five New York
parents are demanding that
American school children be
forbidden to recite: AL
mighty God, we acknowledge
our dependence upon Thee,
and we beg Thy blessings
upon us, our parents, our
teachers and our country"
Powerful voices constantly
warn us Of the danger of ter
rible rightist "super-patriots"
whose greatest sin some
times seems to be their dedi-
cation to the principles out
lined in our Constitution
and their opposition to a So
cialized America.
When will our leaders
speak out strongly to influ-
ence public opinion against
the increasingly arrogant and
truly dangerous voices from
the left?
Lila ID. Sonnemann
4
Your editorial, Freedom
to Pray" has certainly hit
upon a touchy spot in the
hearts of some of your
readers.
One question comes to my
mind-"What kind of par
ents did these militant mi
norities have?" That old
phrase still holds true today
-. train up a child in the
way he should go, and when
he is old, he will not depart
therefrom.
Can you imagine the
parent that says: "I won't
teach my children about God
and the principles for which
he stands.-I'll just let them
learn for themselves?"
What higher or nobler work
do parents have than to train
and lead their children in the
paths of righteousness to-
ward the kingdom of God?
How can we expel God
from our society without ex-
pelling His principles also?
Beverly B. Wilkes
y n
Congratulations on your
fine editorial in regard to the
New York prayer case pend
ing in the Supreme Court
and the obvious controvert-
ing of religious tradition in
this country to accommodate
minorities. You are right in
calling upon the people to
become interested in the
underpublicized struggle 60
ing on to inculcate material
iSt principle in the structure
of the law.
John F. Hogan,
Latrobe, Pa.
Il 4 y
I want to express my per-
sonal gratitude to School Su-
perintendent Hansen for the
position he holds in connec-
ton with opening exercises
and religious observances in
the blic schools of the
District of Columbia. This
position was made public in
The Evening Star Of April
18, 1862, by Staff Writer
David Breasted.
Although I can only speak
for myself in matters of this
kind, I feel confident that
his views as we'll as those
views expressed in the editor
ial entitled, Freedom to
Pray" which appeared in
The Evening Star of April S;
the article by Constantine
Brown entitled, "The Suit
Against a School Prayer" in
The Evening Star of April
IL; the letter from The Ses-
sion Of the Chevy Chase
Presbyterian Church to the
Jewish Community Council
under date of January %,
1862; and the editorial in
the Catholic Standard of
April Is, 1862, entitled, I'm
God We Trust-Or Do We?"
all reflect the views of a
vast majority of our citizens