It looks like it’s official. The war on Christmas we’ve heard
about is nothing more than a figment conjured up by a few extremists.
The
evidence accumulates. “What ‘War on Christmas?’” asked a column
in last week’s Washington Post. Salon.com, preferred reading
at the Clinton White House, in the article “How the secular humanist
grinch didn’t steal Christmas” makes clear there is no war.
In
recommending the piece, Fox News panelist Neil Gabler labeled three
of his own network’s hosts as “demagogues” for suggesting there’s
any assault on Christmas. We can only guess what that week’s
staff meeting was like.
Los Angeles Times columnist Joel Stein
also finds no indication there’s any antagonism directed at the day
on which we commemorate the birth of Christ. Although he does admit:
“We Jews find it a little embarrassing that adults can still make
such a big fuss over Christmas. To us, Jesus was just a cool
guy everyone liked because he died young.”
The Indiana American
Civil Liberties Union Web site currently lists an article authored
by the organization’s executive director explaining “How the ACLU
Didn’t Steal Christmas.”
In it, he claims there’s “a well-organized
attempt by extremist groups to demonize the ACLU, crush religious
diversity, and make a few bucks in the process.” On the Illinois
ACLU’s Web site, it’s noted: “this office has not brought legal action
against a Chicago-area school district for a holiday celebration in
many years. . .”
So that pretty well settles it. There
is no war on Christmas. And even if there were, the ACLU wasn’t
part of it.
Facts are stubborn things, as John Adams wrote. And the facts regarding the ACLU and Christmas, particularly as it
relates to public schools, are incontestable.
A quick review
of just a few of its actions:
Louisiana, 2004. The ACLU
sues the Bossier Parish public school system for displaying a Nativity
scene and holding a teacher-led prayer group.
Colorado, 2003. The ACLU and the Anti-Defamation League send a letter to the Elbert
County charter school alleging Jewish students “no longer feel safe
or welcome there.” The parents represented by the ACLU had earlier
demanded the school take all traditional Christmas songs, including
“Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bells,” out of the school’s holiday
program.
Massachusetts, 2001. The ACLU threatens to sue
Balch elementary school to prevent it from displaying a Nativity scene.
Georgia,
2001. Bowing to the ACLU’s complaint that using the word in
its calendar was “an endorsement of a particular religion,” the Newton
County school board removes “Christmas.”
New York, 1998. The ACLU represents a family of atheists that complains the Gowanda
public schools allow religious songs at school events. Two of
the songs to which the family objects are “White Christmas” and “God
Bless America.” Earlier, the schools had tried accommodating
the family by changing Christmas break to winter break.
Illinois,
1995. The ACLU sends a letter to the state urging Christmas
carols not be played at Chicago’s James R. Thompson Center. “Broadcasting sectarian hymns into public areas of the Center . .
. is sponsoring religious expression,” charges the ACLU. The
state stops the carols for a week, but finally figures out it isn’t
violating the law and resumes them.
New Jersey, 1993. The
ACLU sues the Cherry Hill School District for permitting the display
of a Christmas tree, a Chanukah menorah and a Kwanzaa candelabra. The policy “blatantly disregards the guarantee of separation of church
and state,” according to the ACLU.
Utah, 1992. The ACLU
demands a Nativity scene at South Fremont High School be removed. The scene’s figures are only about two inches high, but they’re big
enough to merit the ACLU’s concerns.
Indiana’s ACLU executive
director says extremists have attempted to demonize the organization. I say the ACLU has demonized and discredited itself by its aversion
to religion.
In Illinois, the ACLU states it hasn’t sued a Chicago-area
school over Christmas in many years. This ignores the ACLU’s
consistent pattern of, year after year, trying to take Christ out
of Christmas. The result has been a hostile environment in which
school officials are easily intimidated.
Heavyweight boxing champ
Joe Louis said of one of his opponents, “He can run, but he can’t
hide.” The ACLU can run, but it can’t hide its disgraceful record
on Christmas.
This appears in the December 15, 2005 Oak Lawn Reporter. Mike Bates is the author of Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths.
