Not Praying With A Full Deck

I saw the story this morning and I knew.  I knew she would find her way to her Facebook page and spew her ignorance like the middle school bully she is.

Alaska Airlines is discontinuing placing prayer cards on their meal trays in response to input from passengers.

Cue Sarah Palin.

She's shocked.  She's hurt.  She SO hopes it's not true.

She wrote, "It feels so odd that some may be offended by a little card with an encouraging non-denominational verse from the Psalms, but how often do we hear complaints about tawdry ads or billboard images flashing at us everywhere we turn?," Palin wrote. "People of faith and common decency just shrug and move on from the constant assault on their sensibilities; we don't call for censorship -- at least I don't."

Well, Sarah - since this is just another in a long laundry list of Things Sarah Palin Doesn't "GET" - we'll start at the start, ok?

Non-dom verse from the Psalms:  The Psalms being IN THE BIBLE.  The Bible being the Christian playbook.  Pretty sure Alaska Airlines serves customers of all religious stripes, or no religious stripes at all.

Complaints about tawdy ads?  Constantly.  Ask around.  People are very vocal about their dislikes, offenses taken, ass in a wad-edness.  I mean, come on, Sarah - YOUR favorite playground - FACEBOOK - is the largest depository for expressing discontent.  (See your latest rant.)

"People of faith and common decent just shrug and move on..."  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry, gotta catch my breath... (got stuck on your censorship remark.  You DO remember your fight with the Wasilla public librarian when you attempted to have books removed, don't you?)

OK, if that's truly how you feel then I propose this to Alaska Airlines on YOUR behalf:  Add to the deck of praying cards.  Include prayer cards for EVERY SINGLE RELIGION OUT THERE.  Shuffle the deck and place them at random on the meal trays.  Should Sarah get the Muslim prayer card, surely she'll just quietly, respectfully, put it to the side and move on to eating her overcooked salmon, right?  Right, Sarah?

(insert sound of crickets)

(Now, insert sound of trickling as logic makes Sarah's brain ooze out her ear.)

Comments

[Lori in Texas]

If I want to read a Psalm (or a Proverb, or a quote from the Gospels, or a Beatitude, or whatever), I open up MY Bible on MY time in MY home at MY pleasure because it's MY choice. I don't need some airline or a doctor's office or a hotel or a real estate office or a cab company to provide me with religious reading material. It's offensive and aggressive and ridiculous. I don't walk around with my Bible under my arm, shoving it in the faces of people waiting in line with me at Starbucks or the grocery store.

A person's religious faith (or their lack thereof) is their personal business and it has NO place in an actual business, unless it's a religion-oriented business. Certainly not an airline, unless it's Rapture Air. (hahaha)

As a side note - I would welcome the opportunity to see prayer cards from other religions besides Christianity. Other faiths are fascinating to me and, almost without exception, are profound and thought-provoking. I love reading passages from the Quran, Buddhist teachings and Taoist prayers. Not to mention teachings of the original Native American faiths, which are incredibly beautiful, powerful and peaceful.

[Nikki]

I did not know Alaska Airlines or any airline put prayer cards on meal trays. Might make me wonder if they worried about their pilots or something. I would not have had a hairy about it myself, either way, but the passengers commented and Alaska Airlines is trying to keep their customer base just like every other business. Palin must have a lot of time on her hands if she can get her knickers in a twist over this.

[Theresa from Virginia]

A bit off the topic here, but I've noticed Sarah Palin's recent endorsement of Newt Gingrich, and continuing comments in support of him - has she been promised the VP nominee slot if he gets the nomination??? Frightening!

I just tune Sarah out most of the time, as I also do most political pundits, whether the topic is religion or whatever. I suspect a lot of people do the same. It's unfortunate though that there is that segment of the population that hangs on her every breath and word - even more frightening!

[Katy]

I would certainly have a concern about getting a prayer card on an airline. I do enough of my own praying - - "please don't let us crash" - - without someone making me even MORE nervous by giving me a card with a psalm on it, especially if it's the 23rd!!

[Shawn in Lakewood CA]

MEAL TRAYS? It has been FOREVER since I have seen a MEAL TRAY on an airline. SP is an idjit plain and simple.

[Tracy D]

3 of the things that I love best about my church are; 1: every service starts out blessing all religions as we recognize ours is NOT the only path. 2: Lessons (not sermons) are taught from everything from the bible to the Koran to the Talmud and everything in between. 3: The youth (teeneagers) who attend the summer camps are put in to small groups where each one is randomly assigned a religion from around the world. They then have to research their religion and attempt to convert others in their group to their point of view. I love Unity. It took years for to find a religion that shared my point of view...we are all in this together regardless of color, religion, gender, social status, sexuality, religious affiliation, etc. I believe the basis of all religions, at least in the beginning, before men started editorializing and adding things to benefit those in power, was fairly simple, Respect and Love Yourself, Respect and Love Others, Respect and Love Nature. Think what the world we live in would be like if everyone held to these basic ideals.

[Shawn in Lakewood CA]

Tracy - your church sounds wonderful.