The  following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS  Sunday  Morning  Commentary. My confession:   I don't like getting pushed around for being a  Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for  being Christians.  I think people who believe in God are  sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no  idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly  atheist country.  I can't find it in the Constitution and I  don't like it being shoved down my throat... Or maybe I  can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we  should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God  as we understand Him?  I guess that's a sign that I'm  getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are  wondering where these celebrities came from and where the  America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we  send to one another for a laugh, this is a little  different:  This is not intended to be a joke; it's not  funny, it's intended to get you thinking.       In  light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings,  etc..  I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she  was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she  didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.  Then  someone said you better not read the Bible in school...   The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and  love your neighbor as yourself.  And we said  OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our  children when they misbehave, because their little personalities  would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr.  Spock's son committed suicide).  We said an expert should  know what he's talking about..  And we said  okay.. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have  no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it  doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and  themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard  enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has a great deal  to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.' Funny how simple it is  for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to  hell.  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but  question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send  'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when  you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think  twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and  obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public  discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.  Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward  this message, you will not send it to many on your address list  because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will  think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more  worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks  of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit.    If not, then just discard it... no one will know you  did.  But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit  back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.   My Best Regards,  Honestly and  respectfully, Ben  Stein