Wow, I saw something last night that was both disturbing and disappointing. My Facebook timeline was littered with people I went to high school with in Mount Vernon, Texas. The folks at Mount Vernon have finally made the news. They are being publicly investigated for things going on in their public schools. Apparently, they have painted the walls with quotes referencing the strength men find in the bible. Teachers have bible verses displayed all over their room. Christian crosses litter desks where apples were once displayed. I’m going to go ahead and put this out there. I am a Christian and despite the cultish influence from the First Baptist church of Mount Vernon, I formed my own beliefs that centered around Christ and light and love. I remember being in 5th or 6th grade and having my Sunday school teacher go around the room asking each of us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Some girls wanted to be a dentist like their father. Some girls were praised on high for wanting to be housewives like their mothers. When it came to be my turn I proudly stated I wanted to be a Psychologist so that I could help people. My Sunday school teacher visibly flinched. Composed herself. Then replied… “Haley.. now we should only look to God to solve our problems. Psychology is the devil’s work.” How dare anyone say that to a child? How dare you put someone in a position of mentorship that tells a child that the profession they seek is the work of the devil, and do it in front of their peers? This is just one example of the scathing overdose of ‘christian goodwill’ I was served in my time at Mount Vernon spent both at the school and the local church.
I was sickened to see that my fellow classmates were proud of the fact that their religion had infiltrated their schools. We have the constitution and the Establishment Clause for a reason. The religion being shoved down people’s throats was too extreme for me as a middle schooler and the same is true today. Shame on you, Mount Vernon.
haeferg 