Perhaps it's just me, but doesn't it seem the teensiest bit telling that most kids HAVE to be dragged into these guilt trips? It almost makes you think they know something you don't (or don't care to). I've never complained too much about the practice, as it's been a moderately effective way of building skeptics and freethinkers (where poorly-answered questions take root and germinate within the minds of the inquisitive). And where do the majority of the little darlings end up during these "services"? Passed out cold on nursery sofas, kneeling backwards on pews (paying attention to everyone BUT the speaker), racing through basement hallways, tripping into Nativity dioramas, or with arms folded in sullen hostility (my favorite). Locational osmosis has to account for the lion's share of recollective message marketing, 'cause it sure ain't focused intellect. I've lost track of the number of "my parents were Orwellian fascists" testimonials I've been e-mailed over the years (and many of the torturous aftermaths endured afterwards), all of which could have been sidestepped by indulging the simple concept of letting kids be kids during the scant time they possess.
