John Edwards and Prayer

I was reading an article about John Edwards and how he thinks that Jesus (from the Bible, not the taco joint on Mission/22nd) would be 'appalled' at the state of America today. I'm not going to wade into that whole debate, but it's a valid assumption. I mean, Jesus, as far as the Bible tells us, was a pretty mellow dude who espoused love and tolerance -- two things America is in short supply of these days (so it seems).

Anyway, what really caught my eye was this little tidbit from that article:

Edwards also said he was against teacher-led prayers in public schools, but he added that "allowing time for children to pray for themselves, to themselves, I think is not only OK, I think it's a good thing."

I had to really agree with that. I think a small time devoted to personal reflection & introspection would benefit a great many young people. In fact, I could see that under the right circumstances it could inspire an entire generation of people who didn't mindlessly recite prayers out of rote but instead took time to reflect on themselves, others and the world itself. It wouldn't be tied to any one faith, so everyone could basically 'pray' about whatever. Meditate, even. Now there's an idea.