Thursday, December 14, 2006

THE GREAT CHRISTMAS DEBATE 12/14/06

It's that time of year where some folks go frantic and start rushing around in order to buy buy buy. Nowadays we have that to contend with along with the American Family Association that wants its contingency to boycott objectionable stores. Those would be the stores that have displays using the word "Holidays" instead of the word "Christmas" such as the Gap. All of this makes me wonder what a display case in a store has to do with the birth of Christ.

Actually I don't really care if employees of a store wish me a "Merry Christmas" or a "Happy Holiday." I usually smile and tell them I celebrate Solstice. Some of them know what that is and some of them don't. The blaring Christmas music-- much of it religious-- and the flashing light displays don't do much for my well-being but I know it will be over and things will get back to their secular normal in January.

Here I will insert the recent hoopla about Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky complaining about the Christmas trees over at Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The airport managers ordered the removal of the trees. Some employees rebelled by bringing in their own little trees to display by their work areas. Actually, the rabbi didn't want the trees removed. He wanted an electric menorah to be included in the welcome display. The trees are back and Rabbi Bogomilsky has offered to donate a menorah. No word yet on whether or not Seattle-Tacoma Airport will take him up on the offer. I found myself saying, "Oh gee, ordering the removal of Christmas trees is going to far" but then hesitating when I read that it was a local rabbi objecting.

Then we have the whole question of religion in the public schools. Personally, I do not want my bisexual atheistic Witch tax bucks going to support a public education system where even a few teachers feel free to proselytize for Christ and to promote Intelligent Design in science classes.
Right now most public school students come from homes where some form of Christianity is practiced. The argument that the majority of kids are from Christian households does not hold water with me. This is one issue where I differ with my good friend Jeremy Crow.

I still believe in my heart of hearts that the job of public schools is to provide a public education, that Intelligent Design discussions properly belong in philosophy or comparative religion classes, and that it is the parents who are responsible for instilling their own religious beliefs and traditions in their children. Teaching about religions is certainly different than promoting a specific ideology in the classroom. Of course, there are violations on both sides of the issue.

In my mind, a teacher who: forbids students to read their sacred texts during free time, downgrades homework and essays which include religious themes by virtue of their inclusion alone, or the passing out of religious material from one student to another [student who is willing to take it] is guilty of not following the rules regarding freedom of religious expression in public schools. So is the public school teacher who: prays with students, witnesses to students, or otherwise endorses any particular religious ideology during classroom time.

For several weeks, I was drinking the poisoned kool-aid which stated that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. I have since become enlightened to other facts and figures from non-Muslim sources. Whether or not the numbers of adherents to Islam will outstrip the number of Christians in our lifetime is a matter up for debate. If the United States ever was to become primarily Muslim, what would happen then? Muslims, I am told, do not celebrate Christmas. Some Pakistani Muslims celebrate the birth of Abraham though most Sharia Muslims consider that holiday to be "an add-on" rather than one that the Prophet intended. If any other religion was the religion held by the majority of American citizens in the United States, would Christians want that religion to be given endorsement by public school personnel? I think not. What ifs aside, we get all caught up in words and then the press adds to the confusion or to the fury-- depending upon how one wishes to perceive these things.

Unfortunately, many of my liberal friends have bought into the story that the president of Iran is a nice guy, that the American press is somehow distorting his views on the Holocaust [basically: it didn't happen, or, it happened but it wasn't all that bad] into something else, that we oughta give nukes to the Iranians and to the Syrians to "fix" Iraq. The president of Iran is not nice, he was one of the student-leaders-turned-terrorist during the take-over of the American Embassy 27 years ago. He denies the impact of the historical Holocaust and in fact is sponsering a two-day event regarding that. His government and the Syrian government both hold un-upstanding records of upholding human rights for all of their citizenry. Add Iraq's government to that last one, as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and a few others over there.

I don't know the "answer" to all the stuff happening in the Middle East. I do know that perpetrating lies does no one any good. The lies that feed the stupid American pubic are thriving. Grown-ups know that not everyone wishes us well. And so this Christmas, this Solstice, this Kwanzaa, this Chanaukah, this whatever winter holidays I've left out, forgot, didn't know about, failed to acknowledge; my sincerest hope for all of us even overrides any hope for peace. I hope that we all remember this: Kool-aid is for kids. Adding cyanide to it can still kill off bunches of people.

radical sapphoq




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