An evil, atheistic attack on Christmas

   In my never ending quest for new Cowboy Poetry websites, I came across this: The Last Nativity.

It seems things are always changing and I reckon not for the best,
But then something happens to you, that puts your meddle [sic] to the test.
Slowly I'd noticed everyone taking our Christ out of Christmas--
Like others I was silent and just didn't raise much of a fuss.

First thing they switched the name from Christmas to the "holiday" season,
Saying that some folks might take offense or other nonsense reason.
Then they quit singing carols because they're "too religious" by heck--
Non-denominational songs are now politically correct!

Then a few atheists complained about our school's small Christmas tree,
So before you could blink your good eye, there were no more left to see.
Then they even went and done away with the yearly Christmas play--
No more kids dressed like shepherds and kings or the star to show the way.

I felt that the message board in question was not the place to respond to the sentiments expressed in the poem. The purpose of that board is for people to share their poetry, not have political discussion. I did not want to let it go unremarked, however, as I have a strong opinion on the topic.
   The poet is making a common complaint in today's society. People are objecting to what they perceive as the loss of a part of their culture when they are confronted with the increasing secularization of Christmas. Traditions that they grew up with, like the giant Christmas tree in the town square, or the Nativity scene on the front lawn of City Hall, or the annual school pageant, are being stopped all across the United States, and in Canada.
   General secularization is not protested as strongly. Sure, people object whenever the Ten Commandments are removed from some public edifice, but not in anywhere near the numbers as when a traditional symbol of Christmas is removed. Why? Because these are all things we remember fondly from our childhood, and we feel their loss personally.
   What does the protagonist in this poem do about the situation?

I didn't breathe a word -- just walked on over to that manger scene
And stood right before it as I folded my arms and acted mean.
The policemen looked some nervous and one said, "what ya doin', son?"
Then I pulled back my old brown jacket, so that they could see my gun.

   This is probably the most common reaction among those who decry the loss of these public displays of iconography. Not the gun part, but the attempt to stop the removal of said displays. Unfortunately, that response is prompted by a complete misunderstanding of why the public endorsements of Christianity by a municipality need to be ended. To understand why, we need to go back to the founding of the United States.
   The United States began as an ideal. Almost 300 years ago, many people in Europe were being persecuted by their own governments for their religious practices. Not for their beliefs mind you, for they were Christian, and so was the establishment, but for the way they practised their Christianity. They were being persecuted for choosing to worship their God in a method different than the establishment would have them worship the same God. They made a difficult decision to leave the homes in which their families may have lived for generations, to make a perilous journey across the sea, to a new, raw country, following the ideal of freedom. Freedom to worship their God their way.
   These same people, in their New World, lived their ideal, and desired to extend the invitation of that ideal to everyone. They drafted a document that became the foundation of a new-born country, and a sigil to be held up in the darkness as a beacon to all those who were being repressed in their own countries: The Constitution.
   Into this document, they put every right and freedom they had been denied in the past. They remembered every wrong done against them, and pledged that none of those wrongs should be done against others in the future, in The United States of America. They knew not what they had wrought.
   When they decreed a separation between church and state, and afreedom of religious worship, they did so only in remembrance of the way their former states had attempted to decree the way in which they should worship. They had no thought of a future America which was not exclusively Christian. They had no thought of a future in which religion and science, who had long since buried the hatchet, would once again become enemies. But their ideal was so strong, and so pure, that the document they forged addresses those concerns, even today, over two hundred years later.
   Let's put the shoe on the other foot for a moment, or, to use a truly American metaphor, let's walk a mile in another man's moccasins. Let us say, for the sake of argument, that you are a Christian, and that your town celebrates the holiday season with a public display of a Menorah on the lawn of the town hall, and no other religious iconography. Would you be upset? Would you feel insulted? Would you feel that your rights as an American were being trod upon? That is how people who are not Christians feel every holiday season, confronted by religious displays endorsed by their own municipal governments, that are contrary to their own beliefs. They feel that their own government gives no thought whatsoever to the non-Christian residents of the community. Many of these people are very devout, God fearing people, just not Christian. Is it right for the government to ignore them, and push a Christian agenda down their throats?
   The Constitution of The United States says that it is not. The Constitution of The United States says that it is wrong for the government to make any segment of the population feel uncomfortable for being different. The government is meant to represent all the people. That includes the Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, and any other religion that might be represented within any community. A government that displays a Christian religious icon is not representing all the people. Therefore, all such icons must be removed from government property. Why? Because the Constitution says so. The very thing that makes America great, decrees it.
   Does that mean that those who are Christian, and do feel strongly about Christmas, should just take that lying down? Of course not. Another key freedom ensconced in the Constitution is the freedom for any man to speak his mind on any topic. As long as, in doing so, that man does not abridge the rights and freedoms of any other. I do not think that the protagonist of the poem should have taken no action. I simply think he should have taken a different action.
   Upset that the town hall is removing the Nativity scene from its lawn? Go out and get your own Nativity scene, and erect it on your front lawn, or in your place of business, and light it up with floodlights. Disappointed that the public school has cancelled the Christmas pageant? Organize your neighbours, your church groups, and hold your own. Publicize it heavily. Invite the whole town. These are the freedoms granted you under the Constitution. This is the difference between being reactive, and proactive. You are perfectly free to celebrate your Christmas in your way, just stop asking other people to celebrate your Christmas in your way for you. Instead of attempting to abridge the rights of another, go out and exercise your own rights. In America, this, too, you are free to do.
   Merry Christmas.

tags:Skepticism