EDITORIAL: First, take a moment to think

With the opening of the 2023 session of the Nebraska Legislature last month, state legislators have introduced 820 legislative bills. One of those, LB141, introduced by Nebraska Senator Tom Briese, calls for the State Department of Education to “provide guidance to school districts relating to a moment of silence in schools.” LB141 immediately drew criticism, being viewed as an attempt to infuse religion into schools.

     As a staff, Titan Legacy believes the criticism of this bill, at least in part, stems from the political polarization of American life. There’s an urge to criticize every action of the opposing political party without trying to see the intent of the action. As a result, ideas that could be mutually beneficial are pushed aside as “partisan.”

     A moment of silence is not inherently religious. Moments of silence are a response to tragedy, a time to reflect, and a time to decompress. While a moment of silence could be a time to pray for some students, LB141 isn’t mandated to be religious.

     While Briese has described himself as a religious man, his proposed bill offers benefits for all students, religious or not. With the stresses of school, activities, and life events, a school-sponsored moment of silence would offer time for students to quietly reflect, think, or clear their mind before continuing with the often heavy demands of the school day.

     Having a short period of time dedicated to silence during the school day would give individuals an outlet to themselves. With the constant activity and noise in school, it’s rare to find time to oneself during the day. A moment of silence would allow students who choose to meditate, reflect, or even pray to do so in a situation where they are uninterrupted by the controlled chaos that is high school life.

     There’s a great political divide that says: “Nothing the other side wants is good for us, we can’t let them win.” But we at Titan Legacy encourage our readers  to see past that. If somebody has a good idea, it shouldn’t matter where they stand politically. LB141 asks schools to give their students time to be alone with their thoughts. While some students can and will use that time to pray, the bill does not mandate or even encourage using the moment of silence for prayer. And if that’s how a student uses their moment of silence, what is the harm?