national day of prayer

i just recently found out that may 16th is national day of prayer. apparently this day has been around since congress designated a day for it in 1952. every president since has taken part in the event in some way. president bush held ceremonies at the white house each year. president obama did not hold a ceremony last year, though he did recognize the day. for this to have been around for the last 48 years i'm surprised this is the first time i've ever heard about it. i'm more surprised though that only in the last 2 years has anyone put any significant effort in overturning the event.

in october of 2008 the freedom from religion foundation sued [then] president bush and the national day of prayer task force, challenging the federally designated day. just days ago, april 16th to be exact, a U.S. district judge declared the day unconstitutional. judge barbara crabb said the day violates the first amendment's establishment clause, which bans the creation of a "law respecting the establishment of religion" in the constitution. president obama has said the day is now a national tradition and has said he will recognize the day again this year.

judge crabb tried to make it clear in her ruling that she is not criticizing prayer, or those who pray. she also made note that there is no law preventing people from praying anytime they want, or for non-governmental agencies to organize their own day for prayer.

honestly, i agree with judge crabb's ruling 100 percent. i can't say that my lack of faith doesn't influence me in some way, but mostly i agree that the day is in direct violation of the constitution. the establishment clause was put into place in reaction to the establishment of the church of england. not to mention the founding father's did not want a preference to be shown towards any religion in particular, hence the first amendment, freedom of religion.

in response to the national day of prayer, secularists/humanists/atheists has joined together in creating the national day of reason, also celebrated on the first thursday of every may. some organizations associated with the NDR have started organizing community service events and blood drives on this day.

so, with may 16th approaching i've been giving some thought into what i can do to celebrate that wont' compromise my values. 1.) i won't be praying, or taking part in any NDP or NDR event. 2.) i'm not allowed to give blood and don't know of any community service events happening, but i can make a conscious effort in doing good deeds all day long. 3.) drink.