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Sorry for the Yoda-like title, but I couldn’t resist.
In my neighboring state of Wisconsin, they’re actually going toe-to-toe on this issue:
A debate over what to call the giant tree in the Capitol this time of year turned contentious during a public hearing on Wednesday.
Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, asked his colleagues to support his plan to rename the holiday tree the “Wisconsin State Christmas Tree.” He said the tree was known as a Christmas tree from 1916 until wobbly state officials changed its name in 1985.
“I am here today to voice the ire and frustration of the majority of people of the state of Wisconsin who want their Christmas tree back in the state Capitol, not a politically correct holiday tree,” Schneider said, nearly shouting.
But Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation said lawmakers shouldn’t waste their time debating such trivial issues. Calling it a “Christmas” tree would offend nonreligious people and amount to a government endorsement of Christianity, she added.
“The state of Wisconsin cannot have a Christmas anything,” said Gaylor, whose Madison-based group represents atheists and agnostics.
Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, wasn’t buying her argument. He said the word holiday itself “means holy day, representative of Christmas, the holiest day in the Christian calendar.”
“You will not be happy until we have a godless world,” he told Gaylor. “You ask for an unreasonable degree of political correctness.”
I don’t know which to be astounded by more, the fact that a Democrat is actually on the side of Christmas or the fact that they even need to have this debate at all.
As the article mentions, if it looks like a Christmas tree, and it smells like a Christmas tree and it’s decorated like a Christmas tree, then it’s a Christmas tree. Calling it a “holiday tree” or whatever p.c. nonsense is, I think, more of an insult to people, because it’s like saying “we think you’re too stupid to know what it really is.”
Welcome to liberal-land, folks. They won’t be happy until we’re all a bunch of godless wonders like they are.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Somehow, I am not bothered that they are offended.
One wonders: does the Freedom From Religion Foundation take off Christmas Day? Are they open on Thanksgiving? It would seem rather hypocritical for them to close their offices (assuming that they have any) or give any of their employees (again: assuming there are any) holiday pay for those days.
Why is it that tolerance is supposed to work in one direction only? Why are Christians supposed to tolerate every other group, without saying the slightest mean thing about them, but the other groups are perfectly within reason to refuse to tolerate public events which refer to Christianity?
November 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pmDana said: “Why is it that tolerance is supposed to work in one direction only? Why are Christians supposed to tolerate every other group, without saying the slightest mean thing about them, but the other groups are perfectly within reason to refuse to tolerate public events which refer to Christianity?”
I agree. I have wondered the same thing. Why is it that Christians have to do all of the tolerating? The same with other types of “tolerance”. It always seems to be a one way street. Tolerance is a misnomer too. What they really mean is ACCEPTANCE. They are trying to force people to accept something they don’t want or is against their morals.
November 29th, 2007 at 10:06 pmI think Lori Anne Gaylor and her group ought to be shipped to Iran to see how their lunacy plays there.
Right Voices has a post on the proper size of stones Iranians should use by law for stoning people to death. Maybe Lori Anne can give us a 1st hand report on it.
November 30th, 2007 at 7:14 am