Officials fine with menorah, balk on birth of Jesus
OLYMPIA, Washington (AP) — The state’s Christmas tree controversy has shifted from the airport to the Capitol, where the governor lit a menorah this week, but officials rejected a Nativity scene….Steve Valandra, a spokesman for the Department of General Administration, said officials were concerned that in comparison with a tree or menorah, a Nativity scene might carry a stronger impression of government endorsement of religion. Lawyers for the state felt there was insufficient time to fully research the issue, he said….”Based on that, without having more time, we had to say no,” Valandra said.
There are those out there who might suspect that I am virulently anti-Christianity. While nothing could be farther from the truth, I can understand where that impression may be coming from. Truth be told, I’m virulently anti-ignorance and anti-religiosity, and that might come across to some as a form of anti-Christianity. With that in mind, I think it’s also fair to point out instances where Christians, or at least the symbols of Christianity might legitimately have a legitimate claim to official oppression…or at least official ignorance in motion.
How is it possible that putting up a menorah at a government building is acceptable, but putting up a nativity scene is not? One is a symbol of Hannukah, a Jewish holiday, the other a symbol of Christmas, a Christian holiday. In that sense, they are morally equivalent. So where does a governmental body come off deciding that a menorah is acceptable while a Nativity scene is not?
How would a Nativity scene possibly “carry a stronger impression of government endorsement of religion” than a menorah? I may not be a credible advocate for Christians or the symbols of their religion, but they do have every bit as much right as Jews to something that symbolizes their holiday. If a governmental body is OK with the installation of a menorah on public property, the denial of the same right to Christians is nothing more than rank hypocrisy and astounding ignorance, pure and simple. Jews have no more or less right to the symbol of their holiday than Christians should have to theirs.
The race to be politically correct should not be a race to the bottom. It’s just too bad that the state of Washington is so caught up in their desire not to offend and to err on the side of caution that they have in fact caused offene by elevating Hannukah over Christmas. No, this is not another skirmish in the War on Christmas © … it’s just yet another example of what can happen when stupid people have too much time on their hands and not enough common sense to do the right thing.
Your tax dollars at work…or not.