Happy HanuRamaKwanzMas (and Diwali)!

It’s that time of year again.  I try to be as inclusive as possible. That’s why I wish everyone I know a Happy HanuRamaKwanzMas (and Diwali).

If I’ve left anyone out, I wish them inner peace, joy and happiness. I hope that works.

It’s getting harder every year to appease everyone.  I don’t know why we bother. Certainly we don’t want to offend anyone but the bar on that keeps dropping.

I know about vampires and crosses, but I’m unsure if seeing Christmas trees, menorahs, Halloween decorations, or Santa Claus is as painful for some folks.  Apparently it is. 

Why? Because these are associated with some belief system other than their own. Or, more likely, a non-belief system they profess.

Or maybe they’re simply looking for an excuse to be offended. 

I say that because in my experience Jews aren’t offended by Christmas trees any more than Christians are by the lighting of the menorah. I can’t speak for Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists but I suspect Christmas trees and menorahs don’t bother them much, either. 

For the life of me, I honestly can’t imagine who is offended by Halloween – witches, maybe? Yes, Halloween is technically All Hallows Eve, and some Catholics celebrate that.  For most everybody else it’s an excuse to dress up and go door to door trick or treating for candy.  Yet some schools have cancelled Halloween parties because, if you dig deep enough, beyond the familiar witches, ghosts, goblins and carved pumpkins, it has its roots in All Hallows Eve.

  

Get a life, folks. If you want to start down that road, the Christmas tree has its roots in pagan customs dating back to Old Testament times.  In fact, for a long time it was banned by Christian church leaders for that reason. It has more historical links to the Winter Solstice than celebrating the birth of Jesus, which, BTW, probably didn’t happen anywhere near December 25^th. 

Like Saint Nick the Christmas tree doesn’t have much to do with the religious aspects of Jesus’ birth any more than the Easter Bunny has to do with His resurrection.    

So are Christians today offended by a Christmas tree because of its pagan origins? Are they upset that they celebrate Christmas at the wrong time of year? I don’t think so.      

Listen, if we start ruling out holidays just because they have some religious overlap, we’ll end up with no holidays at all.  And nobody wants that, except maybe Jehovah’s Witnesses who don’t celebrate any holidays or even birthdays, perhaps so they have more time to knock on your door.

Most other people like holidays and special days, regardless of who or what these celebrate. Hindus have lots of gods and lots of celebrations. Catholics probably hold the record, though, since given the number of Saints’ days, Holy Days, and “feasts of the” this or that, you can hardly throw a dart at a calendar without hitting one of their holy events. 

What’s really weird to me – and trust me it takes a lot to weird me out – is the Elf on the Shelf stuff this time of year.  Apparently an Elf on the Shelf which supposedly moves around a house while children sleep – and which I find more than just a tad creepy – isn’t nearly as offensive to some as a Christmas tree in the town square. Go figure. 

Often, it seems that there’s a fairly concerted effort to strip anything with even a remote connection to a religion from American life, whether that’s in schools, in holiday events, and especially on public land, because of the possibility someone, somewhere might be offended.    

Proponents of this secularization point to the First Amendment as justification. 

Here’s the actual text of the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Since Civics is no longer taught in most schools, and most of the population isn’t really aware of what’s in the Bill of Rights as a result, this is a reminder of what the founders actually wrote.  

Note that religion is the first order of business.

The “make no law respecting an establishment of religion” is often called “The Establishment Cause.” It’s been interpreted – or misinterpreted – to mean that religious celebrations and symbols should never appear on public property – whether that’s on public land, in public schools, or in government buildings – because that would imply government endorsement of a religion.   

That’s not what the founders intended. The language very carefully states the “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”  What that actually means is that Congress can’t make a law installing Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Shinto, Buddhism, Pan-Theism, Wicca or whatever as the “official” religion of the country.  

For context, remember that persecution under “state religions” is why many of our earliest settlers came to America in the first place. 

However, the next part is equally important: “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” Together, the intention is even clearer – Congress cannot make a law to establish a state religion, nor can it make a law prohibiting anyone from exercising their religion.

That’s the opposite of what many of the Old World state religions tried to do – either by law or brute force – through requiring Jews to convert, burning Protestants as heretics, seizing property of Catholics, or levying special taxes on Christians and Jews at various times.

It’s that second part – “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” – that so often is overlooked in today’s climate of cultural intolerance.    

Are there any limitations to our freedom to exercise our religion?  Certainly. 

Whatever your faith is it doesn’t allow you to physically harm others or justify breaking laws without consequences.  You can’t stone to death an adulterous neighbor. You can’t get a picture ID license or passport without revealing your face. You can’t have multiple wives at the same time, or marry children, even if your faith says it’s okay. 

And if you’re a county clerk where same-sex marriage is legal, you can’t legally refuse to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples because it goes against your beliefs. 

While we have the right to worship or not as we please there’s nothing in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights that allows anyone to force their beliefs – or lack of beliefs – on anybody else.  In short, our rights to worship or the “free exercise” of our faith, within the law, cannot be prevented, even if that offends someone else for whatever reason.   

Think about that for a second.  Americans are granted freedom of religion; not freedom from exposure to religion or religious symbols. In our free society, restricting the rights of one group to appease another isn’t a right.       

Now we are faced with increasingly vocal minorities aggressively intolerant of any other views or beliefs than their own. These people are willing to use whatever power they can muster – civil suits and court rulings if possible, and by sheer intimidation if necessary – to restrict the rights of others to express their views or practice their beliefs.

Timid politicians and bureaucrats are folding like cheap suits in response. 

Cancelling Halloween parties and parades, renaming a Christmas tree a “holiday” tree, and removing the 10 Commandments from public spaces are all attempts to appease the intolerant. Under the banner of “inclusiveness” they seek to limit expressions of the faith of others, especially in public.  So they are equally intolerant of publicly displayed symbols associated with Christianity as they are of those related to Judaism or any other faith.   

As to the 10 Commandments, I am baffled that something written thousands of years ago to establish rules for a nomadic people could actually offend anyone today. 

Outside of worshipping God instead of idols and keeping the Sabbath, there’s not a lot of religious content there.  Most major belief systems and cultures have very similar guidelines:  don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, don’t be envious or greedy, treat everyone as you would be treated, etc.  The 10 Commandments show up near courts not because states endorse monotheism, but because – like the Code of Hammurabi – these were historic progenitors of modern law.   

So who is actually offended?  Murderers? Thieves?  Idolaters? Those who covet their neighbor’s wife? People who don’t honor their mother and father? Come on.       

These symbols and celebrations have harmed no one.  Apparently they’ve offended someone.  And because someone simply claimed to be offended, we have these results.

Much of this banning of religious symbols and pseudo-religious celebrations has been caused by people who claim to be atheists. I don’t doubt their sincerity in not believing in a higher power.  That’s their right and I respect it.  They have the protected right to believe or not believe whatever they want. No one is forcing them to believe in God, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, Krishna, Satan, Gaia, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Grand Wazoo. 

But their right to disbelieve doesn’t trump our right to believe and celebrate whatever.  By making everyone else bend to their will, they are effectively doing exactly what’s known as the Establishment Clause was designed to prevent: creating a state religion – Atheism. 

So I guess to be completely inclusive, I’ll have to now say: Happy HanuRamaKwanzMas and Diwali and None of the Above (or below)!

Enjoy your holiday – whatever that is or isn’t.  It’s your right.