Opinion

The ACLU says “bah humbug”

Boston takes a stand and admits that Christmas exists

By Matt Williams

Posted on Dec. 12, 2005, at 12:00 a.m.

Bravo, Tom Menino. Never in my life have I been as proud to be a Bostonian as I was earlier this month, when our dear mayor put his foot down and said that the secular assault on Christmas is wrong and it’s not happening in our town.

Now, for my dear readers not familiar with the situation: For several years, groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have been suing municipal governments to remove references of Christmas from the public eye. That means no nativity scene in front of city hall, no Christmas pageant in the elementary school, and there damn sure won’t be any signs that say “Merry Christmas,” because that’d be an assault on the American way of living.

Boston city officials publicized a “Holiday Tree” lighting ceremony just after Thanksgiving. The ACLU’s cronies applauded the change, but there was an uproar from Christmas celebrators nationwide, led by the Reverend Jerry Falwell. Why on earth was a Christmas tree being called something else?

The Nova Scotian who donated the 48-foot white spruce had no idea. In fact, he claimed if he knew of the name change, he’d have put it in the chipper before he sent it down to Beantown.

Neither did Menino, who said, “I grew up with a Christmas tree. I’m calling it a Christmas tree, and as long as I’m mayor it’s going to stay a Christmas tree.”

A few days later, the city’s Park Commissioner Antonia Pollack folded and made Menino’s decree official.

While Boston did the right thing, many cities and towns are leaving Christmas out this holiday season, fearful of the ACLU’s fancy lawyers. The vast majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and it carries a message of sharing, caring and joy; in a world with so much negativity, why do we want to remove this? Who are they to tell us how to run our lives and celebrate our holiday season?

The ACLU claims to fight for the rights of American citizens; so why is it fighting for something that American citizens don’t want? Why are we so afraid of political incorrectness? Why do we have to pander to these groups, and why can’t we celebrate the biggest holiday in the world, once recognized by the federal government, same as the Fourth of July?

Keep in mind that many cities displaying Menorahs are only being sued for their Christian scenes and references. What’s wrong with this picture? Why is it all right to represent the Chanukah but not Christmas? These nut cases don’t want to remove all religion from public life; they want to remove what they don’t like, which in this case is Christmas.

No one wants to fight them, either. Sears, the most American of stores, won’t use Christmas in any of its advertisements this holiday season, and George Dubya Bush, perhaps the most openly religious commander in chief to date, will use “happy holidays” rather than the dreaded “Merry Christmas” in his Christmas cards this season. Though I guess they’re not really Christmas cards, they’re just greeting cards for some unknown occasion.

This has been going on for years, and finally, the American people are rising up against it. We’re fed up with activist judges making laws from the bench, and we’re fed up with these Scrooges taking away what we value.

Christmas, Santa Claus and Rudolph are woven into the fabric of this country; it’s the most joyous season of the year, one when people actually smile at one another on the streets. What’s wrong with that? Absolutely nothing, and Mayor Menino was the first to put his foot down to say that.

At the risk of drawing the ire of the P.C. secular police, I say: Amen to that.

Matt Williams was sued by the ACLU for wearing a red Santa hat.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 12th, 2005, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.