Interesting C. S. Lewis quote

Gaer did not mean it as a joke, dead serious. It pleases me, as does indivisible.
An invisible God may be looking at you this very moment or every moment.
 

Warrigal said:
In my state primary school in Sydney I remember flag drill on the school playground with these words - "I honor my god. I serve my king. I salute the flag." Then we marched off into our classrooms. This was in the early 1950s. I remember that on the day the death of King George VI was announced we all sang his favourite hymn, Abide with Me.

Later in secondary school at our weekly assembly in the school hall we would sing the national anthem - God save the Queen", the school anthem and the Crimond version of the 23rd psalm. We also learned and occasionally sang patriotic songs such as Land of Hope and Glory.

We did not question these practices until much later in adulthood when Australian nationalism was on the rise.
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Interesting, Warrigal. I guess in Great Britain and all its territories around the world, God Save the Queen is appropriate for someone who is designated as Defender of the Faith. Or is it? Your last sentence makes me realize how ignorant I am about Australia. Is there a movement away from the monarchy, or a movement toward separation of church and state?
 
jerry old said:
Gaer did not mean it as a joke, dead serious. It pleases me, as does indivisible.
An invisible God may be looking at you this very moment or every moment.
Click to expand...

I thought that was supposed to be Santa Claus!

"He sees you when you're sleeping,
He knows when you're awake..."
 

🤪I got tired of these serious threads, thought a snit was called for.
No doubt, from your previous post you got plenty brains, where you got 'um hid out?
😚😁
(I'm trying to be cute, now I find it ain't in me.) Besides I haven't had my coffee yet: :coffee:
 
Warrigal said:
In my state primary school in Sydney I remember flag drill on the school playground with these words - "I honor my god. I serve my king. I salute the flag." Then we marched off into our classrooms. This was in the early 1950s. I remember that on the day the death of King George VI was announced we all sang his favourite hymn, Abide with Me.

Later in secondary school at our weekly assembly in the school hall we would sing the national anthem - God save the Queen", the school anthem and the Crimond version of the 23rd psalm. We also learned and occasionally sang patriotic songs such as Land of Hope and Glory.

We did not question these practices until much later in adulthood when Australian nationalism was on the rise.
Click to expand...
Oddly at assembly in our school in the UK , we didn't have to sing the National Anthem... except perhaps on holidays
 
Had a four hour nap, now I've got my brain right.

There are many thoughtful post on this thread, with examples of why the writer feels the way they do.
Alas, we tire and drift away to something more cheerful than the ills of our society.

Do we become frustrated, realizing our societal problems are so numerous we cannot hope to resolve them?
We then settle for our little niche in the world, trying to assure our own economic and
social safety, or realize that this is the best we can hope for and accept the circumstances we live in.
There are no wild-eyed radicals on this board; we do not understand how they think
or what their agendas are.
Were lack the potency or the will to alter our society.
It appears all of us have reached a statis we have termed sufficient and that is enough.
 
jerry old said:
Were lack the potency or the will to alter our society.
It appears all of us have reached a statis we have termed sufficient and that is enough.
Click to expand...

Oh not necessarily.

As for myself, I can adjust to nearly anything- even if it shouldn't be necessary. But while I definitely have concerns for my kids, this is NOT the kind of USA/world/society I want for my grandchildren. And unlike other seniors I've known (online & in person) my oldest grandchild is only 7 years old!

There's been a lot of important progress during my lifetime. However- in addition to ongoing "bad stuff" from previous generations that has not been appropriately resolved, there are also plenty of messes that only began within the last few decades.

The way I worded it: as Yogi Berra said: "It ain't over til it's over." Whether they directly participated or not, the older generations knew wrongs could be changed and mistakes could be unmade. If individuals in previous generations were capable of making changes in the best interest of themselves and future generations, so can we. At the very least, we have the responsibility to try.

I wouldn't "diss" you or anyone else who does not share that viewpoint, but as for me I'm far from getting comfortable and going out quietly. I honestly don't know if anything I say or do can make a difference, but I'm not going to stop trying.
 
I cannot respond to your post as it require discussion of our political choices in this
country.
Nor can I discuss capitalism...
I've not been to a site where politics is allowed, really do not intend to go there.

I hope you do not loose your motivation; as for me-I'm just too damn old.
I can do my little analysis, but as far as any meaningful activity-can't do it.

These factors make me want to PM folks, but my concepts are not shared my the majorities.
 
Sunny said:
Interesting, Warrigal. I guess in Great Britain and all its territories around the world, God Save the Queen is appropriate for someone who is designated as Defender of the Faith. Or is it? Your last sentence makes me realize how ignorant I am about Australia. Is there a movement away from the monarchy, or a movement toward separation of church and state?
Click to expand...
As in the US constitution the Australian constitution that came into effect in 1901 has clauses guaranteeing freedom of religion in that there will be no state established faith as is common in Europe. It is in the interpretation of those clauses where we differ from US.

I have taught in state run public schools which are predominantly secular but there has always been some time set aside for religious instruction by visiting clergy. This is an anachronism that dates back to the time before Federation when most schooling was provided by the Church of England. The church handed over these schools to the state with the proviso that no less than 30 minutes and no more than an hour would be set aside for religious instruction in whatever faith the children adhered to. This agreement was enshrined in legislation that exists to this day. It is an opt out system but the school is not allowed to offer more than supervision for students who do not participate in religious education. It is very much a decaying situation that needs to be removed by new legislation. It is only the backlash from the Christian right that deters the politicians.

I have also taught in a Catholic girls school and my two children attended Anglican secondary schools. These are faith based Christian schools but children from other faiths and denominations are commonly enrolled. Everyone must attend chapel as required. There is no opting out. The federal and state governments subsidise all faith based schools, including Jewish and Islamic ones, provided they meet the educational standards and requirements for the awarding of school certificates and the curriculum. Government grant money is available for the establishment of new private schools provided a case can be made that there is a local need for such a school.

Our constitution has been interpreted as guaranteeing that no religion shall be favoured over any other and no religion will be suppressed. On the whole it works out quite well for us.

As for the monarchy, we did have a referendum several decades ago to move towards a republic but it failed and there has been no enthusiasm for another attempt. Perhaps after the Queen dies we might move in that direction but we are unlikely to adopt the US version of republicanism. We prefer a parliamentary democracy over a presidential system.

Finally, God save the Queen is no longer our national anthem. It has been replaced by Advance Australia Fair. Our flag used to be the Union Jack when I was a child but that too has been replaced by a new flag bearing the stars of Southern Cross and another star representing the six states and the commonwealth. It does however, like the flag of Hawaii, still contain the Union Jack in the top LH corner.
 
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Warrigal said:
As in the US constitution the Australian constitution that came into effect in 1901 has clauses guaranteeing freedom of religion in that there will be no state established faith as is common in Europe. It is in the interpretation of those clauses where we differ from US.

I have taught in state run public schools which are predominantly secular but there has always been some time set aside for religious instruction by visiting clergy. This is an anachronism that dates back to the time before Federation when most schooling was provided by the Church of England. The church handed over these schools to the state with the proviso that no less than 30 minutes and no more than an hour would be set aside for religious instruction in whatever faith the children adhered to. This agreement was enshrined in legislation that exists to this day. It is an opt out system but the school is not allowed to offer more than supervision for students who do not participate in religious education. It is very much a decaying situation that needs to be removed by new legislation. It is only the backlash from the Christian right that deters the politicians.

I have also taught in a Catholic girls school and my two children attended Anglican secondary schools. These are faith based Christian schools but children from other faiths and denominations are commonly enrolled. Everyone must attend chapel as required. There is no opting out. The federal and state governments subsidise all faith based schools, including Jewish and Islamic ones, provided they meet the educational standards and requirements for the awarding of school certificates and the curriculum. Government grant money is available for the establishment of new private schools provided a case can be made that there is a local need for such a school.

Our constitution has been interpreted as guaranteeing that no religion shall be favoured over any other and no religion will be suppressed. On the whole it works out quite well for us.

As for the monarchy, we did have a referendum several decades ago to move towards a republic but it failed and there has been no enthusiasm for another attempt. Perhaps after the Queen dies we might move in that direction but we are unlikely to adopt the US version of republicanism. We prefer a parliamentary democracy over a presidential system.

Finally, God save the Queen is no longer our national anthem. It has been replaced by Advance Australia Fair. Our flag used to be the Union Jack when I was a child but that too has been replaced by a new flag bearing the stars of Southern Cross and another star representing the six states and the commonwealth. It does however, like the flag of Hawaii, still contain the Union Jack in the top LH corner.
Click to expand...
I often wonder what would be the current state of affairs with England and religion if Henry VIII had been happy with his first wife?

Hawaii - I've been a couple of times but never noticed that about their flag. Interesting. Thanks for pointing it out.

Sorry to stray so far from subject matter.
 
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