Anom...............Oh, I agree that, at this time it does not solely apply to pols...thus my "bastardization" comment. Also, I do appreciate the civil exchanges.................

I'm going to give credit where credit is due here........today Prager conducted an interview of an author who wrote what seems to be a very interesting book on old time (REAL old time) baseball. Prager did have one "slip" where he started to wander into politics (regarding immigration issues), but the author steered him away from that. But, other than that, it was an excellent interview. Prager came across as being friendly and likeable and he also asked interesting questions. There IS hope for the guy. He should make an effort to explore non-political issues, and make an effort to lessen his absolute fixation with "the left". Enjoy life...be happy!

Actually, I had the same question................how is the poor guy a phony?

Anom........I didn't just "gripe and groan" about the column. I brought up the specific issue of politcal correctness. Now to respond to your point, I would suggest that, at this time, it would be considered MUCH more "politically incorrect" for a politician to remain seated during the performance of the song in question as opposed to standing and singing along. Prager has pretty much bastardized the terms "politically correct" and "politically incorrect" but the actual meaning of the terms have to do with what would potentially help a politician's career vs what could be poison for his career. Again, a pol who wants to make a good impression on voters would tend to make the "P.C". move of standing during the song. And i'm not at all saying that's the wrong thing do do....just trying to bring some sense to Prager's very frequent use/misuse of those terms.

Anon...............oh, wow, I see what you did there. You took my words and turned them around , hey that's really clever. So, anyway, do you happen to have any worthwhile thoughts on the topic I raised.....Prager vis a vis political correctness? Surprise me.

"as we raise our voices in a solemn prayer".......damn, I guess the Rev wasn't too far off in his contention that this is a "prayer"

This column, along with the one a few weeks ago about the colllege prof who had the class stomp on a piece of paper with the word "Jesus" on it, clearly illustrate how incapable of clear thought Prager is when it comes to the whole subject of being "politically incorrect". Not being prone to taking the time to think an issue through, Prager pretty much concludes that those who have a different opinion are being "P.C." and that he is some type of free thinking rebel. And, in the meantime, it goes flying over his head that, in this case and, in the case of the college prof, THEY were the ones who were truly being politically incorrect.

Becca.....one other point. I do understand those that say that, normally a minister would be happy if a crowd got up and sang a song asking God to bless the country. By and large,that is a very true statement...........but............just because this one minister does NOT happen to agree shouldn't cause him to be subjected to the type of rancor directed at him in this forum.

Becaa......just because someone is a minister doesn't mean that he/she can't refrain from participating if they feel that a "prayer" is being pushed on people. In this case, he (rightfully, IMHO) concludes that The Nat'l Anthem and Take Me Out To The Ballgame are NOT prayers of any type, so he participates. But, in his opinion, God Bless America has too much of a "prayer" aspect to it that so he prefers not to participate. This is, of course America, and everyone is entitled to their opinion. There will certainly be no shortage of people who do NOT agree that there is a prayer aspect to the song. That's fine. Stand up and sing if you wish. But for Prager to have started the hate train rolling against this poor guy was very unfortunate, but also very typical.

Becca......well, in my humble opinion, just because you're a minister doesn't mean you have to walk lock step wtih all others. Plus, it's not at all as if this is an absolute bedrock of any religious faith. There is no mention, for example, in the ten commandments about having to stand up and sing if you're at a public place where a song that mentions God is being played.

Mike.................good point.