So, JUST LIKE EVERY YEAR FOR THE PAST FEW, even during the Bush years, the criteria for submissions includes not having religious themed ornaments. Which, hey, whatever, considering the stated THEME is ‘Arizona’s Gift, from the Grand Canyon State.’” It is also stated that the ornaments “will provide wonderful opportunities for Arizona school children to demonstrate what Arizona means to them… Whether they represent our world-renowned landscapes, our diverse cultures, or other aspects of our state, the ornaments will help convey the particular beauty that is Arizona.”
But, whining fundies can't deal with that. And one little snotnosed brat gets used as a pawn by the ADF because he is throwing a temper tantrum about wanting to submit JEEEEEEEEEEESUS themed ornaments:
ADF attorneys sent a letter to state and federal officials demanding that they abandon the prohibition of religious viewpoints so that the child may participate in the unique opportunity. One of the ornaments will read “Merry Christmas,” another will say “Happy Birthday, Jesus,” and the third will portray a manger scene with the baby Jesus.
Really? So Jesus was born in Arizona? What does any of that have to do with Arizona? If I'm taking a class, and my teacher tells the class to write an essay about baking a cake, I am going to get a big fat F if I write about how much I love Jesus. And I'll completely deserve it, because I didn't stick to the assignment.
Your kid is free to make whatever ornament he wants. The government does not have to provide a public place to display it. If Christians want a tree with religious-themed ornaments displayed in the Capitol, then they can do it at one of their churches, and invite the public to view it. In fact, I think that would be a really great opportunity for them! They can say, hey, we're rendering unto Caesar, now let's render unto our god and celebrate in our own faith. By opening their doors and inviting people in, they'll promote their own interests in whatever way they want, without having to get lawyers and whatnot. Maybe families will travel to DC to see their kid's ornament displayed. Wouldn't that be cool? After a couple of years, they can do a "best of" tree with ornaments from past years. Perhaps the #1 ornament on the "best of" tree could get reproduced the following year as a fundraiser.
Why the hell do these people not hire me to take care of their PR problems instead of foaming at the mouth and screaming incoherently? WTF man.
3 comments:
Uggghhh. This is so my pet peeve. Some friends on Facebook are circulating some sort of petition thing to boycott the GAP, Banana Republic, and Old Navy (I think) because they refuse to slap Merry Christmas all over their stores and advertisements. Not because, idk, little kids are making those clothes for less than a penny a day or because Banana Republic is named BANANA. REPUBLIC. FFS DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
Sorry for the rant, especially since I only ever lurk here. :)
illegaljesus:
Thank you for your comment! Feel free to de-lurk anytime :)
I think you bring up a GREAT point--that examining the way these businesses treat humans is far more important than what religion they honor during the winter holidays.
I was thinking last night that maybe a lot of these angry people just don't have any exposure to people who are of different faiths. When the default in your area is Christianity, then maybe it's more difficult to imagine why someone would object to it. When I moved to NY, I actually met real, live Jewish people--and lots of them! A lot of people in my midwestern hometown haven't had that experience.
When Harvey Milk was campaigning for gay civil rights, he told everyone to come out of the closet, because he was of the opinion that people who were opposed might change their minds if they realized that someone they knew was gay.
I blame Bill O'Reilly and his right-wing idiot colleagues, and his right-wing, religious zealot followers for this "war on Christmas." They obviously refuse to realize not everyone celebrates Christmas,or many families do not celebrate the religious part of it for whatever reason.
You don't see Jewish people ranting about schools not allowing menorahs in classrooms, or African-Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa complaining about the lack of public displays, or those who celebrate the Winter Solstice whining about nobody recognizing them, considering most of the traditional Christmas symbols and celebrations were originally pagan anyway!
If Jesus were on earth right now, I'm sure he would be shaking his head and wondering why he has so many dumbbells for followers!
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