One Nation, under God

Political correctness sets me off. Generally, I make it a point to antagonize my students and make fun of the choices they make.

So, today, courtesy of a sweet, if misinformed young lady, I will share with you our conversation:

Student: Am I allowed to say "God" in my essay?

Me: [after a moment of silence, trying to figure out if there was any complexity to the question] Um. Yes.

Student: Oh, I thought we weren't allowed to mention God.

Me: Why not? I mean, I imagine God is relevant to the point you intend to make, right?

Student: Oh yes, it's about God.

Me: I see, if it's about God, how can you avoid saying "God?"

Student: I thought there was a special way of saying it without, you know, using the word god.

Pause. At this point, how many of you think she was striving to use that ever present and ridiculous politically correct term, Higher Power? Yeah. Me too.

Me: God is acceptable, and appropriate. Just out of curiosity, what were you going to use?

Student: I thought we had to say Heavenly Authority

Me: [words cannot capture the dazed and amazed look on my face] Um. No. God is good.

Teehee, did ya catch the pun? Frankly, I rather like Heavenly Authority. It's sure to antagonize way more than "God"