Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.I think I’ve come full circle on this. Now that kids are grown, I can think more rationally about this. Christmas is about marking the birth of Christ. Spending time with love ones, travel, gift exchanges and other cultural and ethnic customs are separate.
When a municipality decorates it should not be for a religious observance, but to make the atmosphere more friendly, pretty and to promote business and SHOPPING.
My new philosophy: private displays only of religious holiday symbols. Santa and reindeer are not religious, but are evocative of Christmas and don’t belong on public property. Same for menorahs, Christmas trees, crescents, shamrocks, etc. Private property on town square and shopping areas should display whatever they want and churches and temples should prominently display their important religious symbols.
As for lights and garland, I’d agree with refraining from the red and green combo, which can only be construed as relating to Christmas. But I’d say go with white (I see white lights year round in some trendy areas) or multi-colored. Whatever makes people smile and want to spend money. As a municipality’sChristmas decorations age, they should replace them with more generic festive decorations.
I’ve always thought it nice when municipalities allow multiple religious symbols for short times of the year. However, we are a diverse country and the town or state should not get involved in determining which symbols are tasteful, what might offend some, and what percentage should be the point at which a group be counted or discounted.
Historically many groups have never expressed concern about religious displays. Non-Christian Asians have had virtually no municipal recognition of their holidays and I have heard of very little of protest from Hindus, or Buddhists or even Native Americans. I have never even given a thought to if they have felt uncomfortable or slighted.
Just because newer Americans (or the children of other long-quiet American groups) don’t feel the need to be so silent doesn’t make their point less valid.
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here. Anyone who get such a message from traffic light colors is psychotic. No exaggeration.
I think Seth Anthony needs to go back to playing pocket pool. It would be a step forward for him......what a jack@ss!
I predict slaughter at major intersections, but maybe that’s not all bad, could kill off a few of those stupid enough to live in a place where personal freedom and common sense has been banned.
What colors does that leave? Blue, yellow, white, orange, purple.
Ugh! What a combination.
What a waste of taxpayer money.
“The group was made up of members of the city’s business and religious communities as well as representatives from some community groups. Members met for months to review the existing holiday display policy, which allowed white as well as multi-colored lights and wreaths and garlands.”
Wow! These folks must be really bored!
Total insanity! Has the whole world gone crazy, or does it just seem like it?
Oh, man, I thought they were going to ban STOPLIGHTS at Xmas-time as being “offensive”!
My mistake!
‘What will be allowed are white lights and “secular” symbols not associated “with any particular holiday”’
So, we’re stuck with the BORING non-color lights.
Or, I can use my multi-color lights, but must remove each of those that is green and red? Leaving only the white, yellow, blue?
If I lived in that town, I'd make sure my house was covered with red and green lights from now till Christmas, and I'd ask my friends, neighbors and family to do the same. Then I'd write letters, make phone calls and get my face splashed across local TV complaining about this idiocy. Contact John Gibson and go national with the story.
There must be a local newspaper who's looking for controvery. Give it to them. Make a fuss, people.
Whatever happened to the vocal Christian majority?
Let’s see what they think about acomodating the symbols of the cult of death.
And it's only gonna get worse.
In spite of frequent rants on this site that we're all Muslim dominated, our local council will be decorating the high street of my town with:
Would the latter be allowed in a public place, put there by a public body, anywhere in the US?
Lefties in one town in England tried to change Christmas to 'Winterval' a few years ago, citing that they didn't want to offend other religious groups in the town. A reporter went to talk to representatives of these other groups and found that they were indeed very offended: that the lefties would be using them as an excuse for their oewn agenda. You see, these groups had no problem with Christmas decorations and celebrations at all, recognising it as an English tradition.
Finally, let's consider the response of a British Muslim MP on a recent report that suggested Christmas should be banned in UK towns:
Sayeeda Warsi, the Conservative spokesman on community cohesion, said: "Their comments betray a breathtaking misunderstanding of what it is to be British. These proposals could actually damage cohesion."
She added: "You don't build community cohesion by throwing out our history and denying the fundamental contribution Christianity has played and does play to our nation.
"As a British Muslim I can see that - so why others can't just staggers me."
Don't you people know ? Some turkeys just banned mistletoe!!!
It makes some people feel uptight
Whiny snots! They're just mean Christophobes
I don't know how they sleep at night.
I guess that Santa's still OK;
Until some lawyer gets his way.
One with too much time on their hands will try
To get judges to ban traffic lights
I once could offer you this harmless phrase
But thanks to the ACLU
Because it offends many kinds, many ways
No "Merry Christmas" for you!!!
And so the PC cops have banned this phrase,
in retail stores and publik skools,
Because it offends, many kinds, many ways,
No "Merry Christmas" for you!!!
This is the most assinine thing I think I have heard of in my life.
Their thinking is, apparently, since many christians use red and green lights at christmas time, that red and green lights must have some religious significance. Well, I have been a christian all of my life, and I know of nothing in my religion that says a damned thing about colored lights. In fact, if lights on a christmas tree were tied to any sort of religion, it would be paganism, and historically, the lights they used to decorate trees were candles... which give off WHITE LIGHT.
If, simply because christians do a particular thing, that it automatically makes the thing they do a religious thing... well, every christian I have ever known also breathed oxygen. So there needs to be a law forbidding citizens of Ft Collins from breathing any oxygen. Four minutes after that.. all problems with this issue will be resolved.