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Carnes: Onward Christian students

Richard Carnes
Vail, CO Colorado

VAIL, Colorado –“I bet you’re happy the Christian school’s being shut down.”

Huh? What the (fudge)?” is what I wanted to say, but instead I replied, “Why would you think that?”

“Because you hate religion. Everybody knows that. You make fun of it all the time.”



Wow. Talk about misinterpreted delusions.

Hate is such an inappropriate and vastly misused word. I wanted to tell them to shove the ignorance back in their personal insecurity closet, but it would have only made matters worse.

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“I don’t ‘hate’ anything,” I said. “I think it sucks that the school might close down. I have a few good friends whose kids go there, and for the most part, they love it. The more options we have in this valley, the better all of our kids are in the long run.”

Feigning actual shock at my announcement, they continued babbling about what they assumed were my personal feelings on a myriad of subjects but mainly religion.

Evidently I can offend some merely by saying, “Hello.”

So, in spite of the fact that I have said this many times on this very page, let me repeat: I do not hate religion or religious people any more than I “hate” astrology. They are both creations of man and his neverending quest to understand the unknown, and some take them far too seriously.

Capiche?

I do, however, have no problem whatsoever making fun of those clinging to ancient superstitions as the sole basis for living a good and moral life, as if not believing in the supernatural would doom them to a life of crime filled with raping, pillaging and the total immoral excess of a Goldman Sachs executive.

And now that the school has been saved, I could not be happier.

The teachers are happy, the kids are happy, the parents (a few of whom are nonbelievers, by the way) are happy, and the Eagle County School District is ecstatic.

While those I poke fun at will probably say it was Jesus or the power of prayer that saved the school, we all know what was really responsible for the saving.

Yes, it was good ol’ American greenbacks. Cold, hard cash from people who cared more about a school than a bank balance and let their money do the talking.

And it was beautiful to watch.

So congratulations, boys and girls of Vail Christian High School. You have not only done yourselves proud, you have learned invaluable lessons about facing your fears and doing something to affect the outcome of a battle that you thought was completely lost.

Well done.

As to the naively delusional who seem to equate confronting me in public with courage, try reading a book of knowledge (a.k.a., science). Anything by Carl Sagan would be a good start.

Richard Carnes, of Edwards, writes a column for the Daily. He can be reached at poor@vail.net.


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