DARRELL SCOTT TESTIMONY

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy-it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. "I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

Your words are empty air.

You've stripped away our heritage,

You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek for answers everywhere,

And ask the question "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws,

Through legislative creed.

And yet you fail to understand,

That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and reek havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. "Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes-He did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA - I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in va in! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

Amen

Thanks, well said.

WOW-Some big time strength and courage,considering a parents greatest loss!!!!! Its easy too see where he received the guidence!!!!!!!!

I do not believe that prayer in public schools would have changed the course of the Columbine killers.

I guess we will never know if it would have made a difference... but, I don't think it could have made it any worse... of course this also is just speculation on my part.

AZ-Ron

I don't know if it's literally prayer itself that would have stopped it. I think that a society that has removed prayer from school has made a climate where these thing happen. Lack of prayer is a part but not the whole problem.

One of my daughters has taught in a private parochial school for many years. Prayer and religious study are a significant portion of the academic curriculum. She relates that there are still problems with bullying and retribution. It's an elemenatary school in an affluent suburb, so, as you might expect, the level of violence, child on child is not Columbinesque, but she says it's clear that peer pressure and censure is prevalent. She says that teachers have to be extremely diligent to be aware when children are hazed and bullied by their peers.

could it be that we were taught to respect others, while today most kids are taught it's all about them?

we acted up and we broke rules(lots of rules!) but we wern't rude. We would never have cranked up our music as kids do today.Etc Etc. Then when thing don't go their way they do what ever they want, it's all they know. Just a thought, Bill

I think there was a greater emphasis on personal discipline, respect for others, and mutual cooperation. If you were placed on a Little League team or a band, etc. that wasn't very good, you were taught to work together to make it better and successful, helping the weaker members to improve. Today, parents pull strings to get their kids transferred to another more successful or prominent group.

There was a high school kegger here recently. 100+ kids, several sqaud cars to brake it up. The parents were out of town. When they returned they threatened to sue the cops for picking on their kids and not busting some one else's party. Do you think if their kid gets bullied he might take a gun to school?

People who "protect" their kids by pulling strings and shriking off the things they do wrong, with phrases like, "they are only kids and they really did not mean any harm" or "we did the same thing in my day" are only adding to the problem, break the law and be held responsible for your actions!

Charlie

IMHO,

It seems to me the author is generally critizing our unresponsive , unrepresentative government that responds to tragedies such as Columbine by passing laws that further restrict our freedom. The "Safety for Freedom" swap.

There was a time when being a republican stood for LESS laws and MORE freedom. Now they call us libertarians and the republican party has been hijacked by totalitarian facists.

I say it all comes back to ass-whoopins. We all got them when we were kids and most of us turned out to be productive, law-abiding citizens (for the most part, embargos against Cuba and speeding violations notwithstanding).

My boy got ass-whoopins and I haven't had to spank him since he was 5. He still screws up now and then, but talking to him does the trick now.

Discipline in today's society is severly lacking and I find myself wishing I could discipline other people's kids when I see they're not doing it.

Awesome...simply awesome.

I'm a big fan of ass-whoopins.

I got my share, and my daughter is beginning to get to the point where she needs an occasional smack on the bum.

I think that violence, properly administered to maximize it's positive value, can solve some of these problems.

When a child's ONLY exposure to violence is through video game where the goal is to eviscerate your oppenent with a variety of deadly weapons, then that child does not have a good understanding of the consequences of violent behaviour.

I don't know if prayer in school is the answer.......I never prayed in school. But I knew that if I screwed up, I would get my ass beat.