Ahhhh, Christmas. I'm trying to really get into the holiday this year. We have a big tree and a little tree up, and a light-up rhino in the front yard. I've purchased some good presents, and SC and I even spent the weekend gathering items to make some presents. I'm going to put a cookie-recipe-in-a-jar for some people, make bath salts for others, and SC is making my dad and my brothers some pencil-holders. The Christmas cards are almost ready to be mailed, and I've got one week left of work before break.
Around the small town I live in, Christmas decorations have gone up. Some people had their lights up before Thanksgiving. They're tacky, but SC gets all excited to see them, so they make me smile. And in a small Indiana town, there is a big Nativity scene set up on a courthouse lawn. It's been up every Christmas season for 50 years, and the majority of the town supports it. But this year, one person in the town contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation and asked for their help in protesting the Nativity scene.
Take a second to read this article, if you will. Pay close attention to the quotes from the community members and from the people commenting on the article. Let yourself feel how disdainful the people are. And people on the Freedom from Religion's Facebook page are even worse. They blame Wisconsin (where the FFAF is headquartered), the Devil, and those "evil nonbelievers". The people from that town (and, suddenly, there are seemingly thousands of them, all online) declare that they "won't take it down, no matter what".
Oh, people. Look. If you had this Nativity scene up on your church lawn, no one would ask you to take it down. But the fact is, it's on government property. It's in PROMINENT government property. It's the only religious or holiday icon on that lawn. So, by putting that symbol of Jesus's birth there, you are saying that every person in your town in a Christian, that every person represented by your state government is a Christian, and that every person in the United States is a Christian. Of course this isn't true. Therefore, it is unfair and offensive for the government to show favoritism to the Christian religion by putting the Nativity scene up on the courthouse lawn.
But there's another option besides having the Nativity or having nothing. Some people feel that ALL religions should be represented on the courthouse lawn. If everyone was allowed to put up their own religious icon/symbol, then everyone would be represented. Problem solved, right? Here's a video of one town that did just that. Everyone is invited to put their own religious symbol on the courthouse lawn, down to the Flying Spaghetti Monster of Atheism. That way, if you want to be represented in government, you're more than welcome to. You just have to get the money and the people together to build/buy a symbol and get it put up.
Okay, I'll admit. That's better than just a Nativity scene. But I think the best option is to have NO religion on government land. No Nativity. No Spaghetti Monster. No Dharma wheel, no Star of David, no Shiva. It's religion, dammit. Keep your religion at home. Keep your lack of religion at home. A government building is for everyone. It's neutral. When I walk past my courthouse, I want to see a nice lawn and a United States flag. Feel free to put your state flag up. But don't taint my belief in our political system with a tacky display of every religion you can think of. It's not beautiful. The different religions only symbolize tension, hatred, disharmony. Some communities won't have people of certain religions to put displays up, so many religions won't be represented. That doesn't mean that they're wrong (or right!), it just means that they're not in a certain area. And what about the single, solitary Atheist in a small town? Does she have to spend her money to put up a display, just to be represented? Poker Face insists that the FFRF would spend the money to put something up, but do they have to do that in every community in America? Wouldn't they be inundated with calls and requests? And what if a synagogue votes to not include anything, but like five of the members wanted to have something? Then those five aren't represented. It's just too complicated. A plethora of religious symbols is NOT the answer.
Is my viewpoint mean? No. But I'm tired of the coddling. I'm tired of the majority getting to decide everything. I'm tired of Christians talking about how this is a Christian nation. I'm tired of "under God" in the pledge and "in God we trust" on our money. Get over yourselves. You don't get to break the rules! Take the Nativity scene off of the courthouse lawn, and stop your protests and horrified outcries. Go pray to your God about how horrible the world is, and keep me out of it.
I'll be lighting up my baby rhino in the front yard.
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