Banned for Beliefs?

      The top coach of Cape Henlopen highschool wanted nothing but to pray for the safety of his players at a postgame, so he did, but he was persecuted for these actions and placed under scrutiny.
      I've been raised in a time where you keep your religion under wraps at schools, students willingly and teachers forcibly. So it is no huge shock that things like this happen in our everyday life. But there always is a shock, always a part in me that is enraged. Why should this coach be ill-treated for praying? I mean, how can we say we live in the Land of the Free if we, the teachers, cannot legally pray in our schools? How is that freedom?
      I do understand the other side though, the side that bans it from our public school systems. They support the argument that school is no place for religion, and by teachers standing up for their own religion it could potentially offend a student, or cause many arguments. That the main focus of school is for educational purposes, and not for such things like religion.
      But this also has a catch. Schools are becoming more and more diverse, with race, beliefs, and even sexual orientation. So why are we so quick to hide religion? To ban prayer? To make it something taboo for students to do?
     Another point to my argument is the first amendment itself, saying "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech..." It says that there shall be no law made against the exercise of religion, so why can't we? Prayer is a right that we have, should have, and will have.

                                             
Admin. "Highschool Football Coach Reportedly Banned For Postgame Prayer With Players." News Yab: The Inquisitr Information. 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Death With Dignity?

          Brittany Maynard wanted nothing but life, but in January of 2014 she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, so she chose to move to Oregon to access Death with Dignity.
          CNN.com interviewed the 29 year old about her condition, and realized she was very set on what was going to happen. Brittany talked about not even a year after she got married, in 2013, she was diagnosed in January and it came back more aggressively in April. Eventually there was a point where the doctors told her there was nothing else they could do, and gave her 6 months to live. It was here that Brittany started to do her research, on any other options. She stumbled upon Death with Dignity, which is a end of life option for terminally and mentally ill people that take prescription, self-ingest medication to end their life. She realized that this would be the best option for her, not wanting to suffer and make others watch. She says she does not plan to use it right away, but plans to November 1, two days after her husbands birthday.
          I actually found this article trying to do my science journal, on ajc.com, last week and was completely shocked. I didn't even know what Death with Dignity was, or that people could do that. My first reaction was along the lines of 'that's so depressing for her to know when she's going to die, and for her to do it'. I wasn't thinking it was wrong or anything, just I thought it was really, really sad- and it is. But the more I read the more it made sense, she gets the option to painlessly end her life before the suffering begins.
          I support Death with Dignity because it's helping people live out the rest of their life and then be able to end it whenever the pain becomes too unbearable. It's not fair for these people, who have already been through so much, to suffer and suffer until they die. It's not fair. Sure, people can choose to live it out, but they should also get to choose if they want it to end. It is always a choice.
          I read though some of the comments on this article and some were supportive, but some were not. There were many people telling her how she's going to go to hell because she's committing suicide and throwing away the precious life that God gave her. I hate when stupid people say stuff like this. Brittany is a newly wed 29 year old with a lust for life, maybe if she didn't have terminal cancer she would live, but she does. Death with Dignity is not suicide, it is for people who will suffer until they die. A simpler way out is nicer than potentially becoming immobile or not being able to communicate. If you do not like it, then don't do it. Just don't choose other people's battles.
          It baffles, yes, baffles, me that this option is only available in 5 states.

  

Crawford, Melony. “Terminally ill woman, 29, chooses to die two days after husband's

            birthday.”Atlanta Journal Constitution: Cox Media Group. 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 19

Oct. 2014.