&uot;Oh Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!&uot; &045; Aslan the Lion in &uot;The Magician’s Nephew,&uot; C.S. Lewis, 1955

Our elected city officials should pass a resolution outlawing the display of the American flag in public view. After all, with Albert Lea’s culturally diverse population, some of our local residents might feel uncomfortable seeing Old Glory waving in the air. It would be culturally insensitive for us to subject them to that discomfort.

On that note, why not remove the flag from our schools, too? That would be the politically correct thing to do, wouldn’t it? After all, we live in a free country, and not everybody embraces democracy. Doesn’t that mean we have the responsibility to ensure that our children grow up to be culturally sensitive?

Of course, those suggestions are ridiculous, but they follow logically from the argument used to justify another recent act in Albert Lea.

Recently, Mayor Jean Eaton made a decision to remove the Serenity Prayer from the city council meeting agenda. She said that this was done in observance of Albert Lea’s diverse culture, and that the prayer made some people uncomfortable.

First of all, I would like to know specifically what &uot;diverse culture&uot; our mayor is referring to. Though approximately 10 percent of our population is Hispanic, they mostly worship the same God we do. There is not exactly a high concentration of Jews and Muslims in Albert Lea, and I don’t believe she is afraid of alienating local groups of Buddhists, Hare Krishnas, Wiccans and pagans. The type of religious diversity Eaton is referring to simply does not exist in Albert Lea.

Second, Eaton says that the prayer made some people uncomfortable. That may very well be, but I fail to see just how that justifies removing the prayer altogether. Anybody who does take offense to a basic prayer has the right to not listen to or observe it. That doesn’t, however, give them the right to deprive everyone else of their rights. We have the Freedom of Religion &045; not the Freedom from Religion.

We cannot rid our community of everything that might make somebody else feel uncomfortable. For example, I take offense to some of the lyrics of rap singer Eminem. To remedy this, I simply refuse to purchase or listen to his music. I do not try to prevent those who enjoy his music from listening to it. The Serenity Prayer should have been handled the same way. Mayor Eaton’s decision to remove the Serenity Prayer from the city council meeting agenda was groundless, and the process by which it was removed, unjust.

The Tribune has received volumes of letters on this subject, all of which have been in protest of the removal of the prayer. This leads me to believe that our city councilors, with the exception of George Marin, are the only people who publicly support Eaton. I would imagine that if there was strong public support for her decision, they would want to make themselves heard. So far, they haven’t (though about 30 percent of our online poll respondents were not in favor of saying a prayer before the meeting).

On a positive note, as a Christian, I find it encouraging that so many other Christians are voicing their opinions on this subject. I have a great respect for that. I refuse to buy into the tired old argument regarding the separation of church and state. Reciting a simple prayer before a public meeting is not in any way on par with establishing a state-mandated religion.

Incidentally, if anyone reading this column truly is made uncomfortable by prayer, there is likely a reason why. My suggestion would be to do some soul-searching to determine that reason. Your feelings, along with the reason for them, are between you and the Lord alone. Ignore our prayers if you choose, but don’t use your lack of faith to prevent those of us who welcome prayer from expressing ours.

Dustin Petersen is an Albert Lea resident. His column appears Mondays.