Up until now we’ve looked at all this fuss over the Christmas/holiday controversy with a combination of bemusement, mild dismay and a wonderment that with all that is going on this world some folks have to create a major controversy as if we don’t have enough already. And we have understood that some people felt very deeply about this.
But now it’s apparently being taken to a NEW level (or depth)…in Congress…via a proposal that will not just protect Christmas symbols (fair enough) but be a big, fat slap in the face to Jewish Americans if the report below from the National Jewish Democratic Council is true:
War in Iraq, war against terrorism, war in Afghanistan, move over — today, House GOP leaders have decided there is a more pressing war to attend to: the fictional war against Christmas, which apparently requires protection for Christmas symbols. And what happened when Democrats asked that the symbols of Chanukah be protected along with the symbols of Christmas? The House GOP simply said “no.”
This afternoon, 26 House Republicans — together with the GOP leadership — will be forcing the full House to vote on whether House members support the “symbols and traditions” of Christmas, and whether they disapprove of the utterly mythical “attempts to ban references to Christmas.” Today’s roll call vote comes on the heels of a House floor debate held last night regarding H. Res. 579, a resolution “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected.” During the debate, Democratic members asked the Republican author of the resolution, Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), if she would permit the symbols of Chanukah and other holidays to be included in the protection of the resolution — and she refused.
So there you have it. In seeking to legislate the “protection” of Christmas (a holiday that presumably is celebrated in the heart and in the home as well as in municipalities that use the world “holiday” or stores that say “holiday”…or White Houses that send out Happy Holiday cards) it appears if there was an actual REFUSAL to protect the symbols of Chanuka and other holidays as well.
So, in light of this actual refusal, let’s call this proposed measure what it seemingly is: it’s exclusionary.
The intent may well be a resolution to help protect Christmas. Previous to reading the above report yours truly yawned when he read of claims that some of the folks who were promoting this were using code words to go after other Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas.
But with this refusal, what more can you say? This week week we wrote about the nutty President of Iran who wants to move Israel to Alaska (doesn’t he REALIZE that Jews move SOUTH to Florida due to the cold?), and while we definitely don’t lump these folks with him, we will say their REFUSAL to protect any symbols except those of THEIR religion suggests they have a patently unchristian-like attitude.
In America, in their apparent view, you only LEGISLATE the PROTECTION of the symbols of ONE religion — yours. At least under this Congress. And in 2006 some voters may decide that perhaps it’s time to do something about that.
UPDATE: Cutting to the Chase’s Conrad Spencer:
What better way, after all, to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior than to make up a wedge issue to divide one American from another? What better way to recognize the Spirit of the Season but with petty bickering and, if the Spirit truly moves us, a bit o’ hate mongering?
Read his entire post on the Christmas/holiday broohaahaa.