Posted on 12/12/2005 10:45:53 AM PST by raccoonradio
Rich McNair wrote with an evangelical fervor, which was noteworthy because the Middleboro teacher is an avowed atheist.
“I’ve been one as long as I can remember,” he admitted in a letter sent here a decade ago. “Yet I am sick and tired of these self-centered, arrogant knuckleheads who have nothing better to do at this time of the year than make the season less enjoyable for millions of others by nitpicking over Christmas displays.
“The founders would rip up the Constitution and kiss the butt of King George if they could see how present-day constitutional interpretations go to such extremes.”
McNair wrote that in December 1994 in response to militant secularists who view Christmas as nothing more than a chance for Christians to proselytize.
So it seemed like a good time to check in with him, just to see if his views had changed.
“Not one bit,” he replied. “In fact, I’m more fed up than ever with these people who obviously have too much time on their hands. They’re good at getting attention, though that’s not hard to do if you’re outrageous enough.
“And there’s no way to have an intelligent conversation with them, because there’s no room for compromise, no room for accommodation.
“They’re always looking for a fight, like the schoolyard bully, only they use courts for intimidation, chip-chip-chipping away until someday there’ll be nothing left.”
He is, of course, absolutely right.
Burn the flag? Free expression. Dance in the nude? Free expression. Wear a “Stop Snitchin’ ” T-shirt? Free expression.
But say “Merry Christmas” and you might be in trouble.
“Even as an atheist,” McNair, 61, went on, “I understand how important religious underpinnings have been to us as a society, setting in motion the values that have defined us as a nation.
“You know, when I was a kid the public school system sent us all to church or synagogue once a week. Anybody who grew up around here in those days will remember that. And no one complained. It makes me wish I could climb into a time machine and show what’s happening now to the people who ran our communities then. They wouldn’t believe America could have let this happen.
“It’s frightening to see how much of our culture is being washed away by half-assed court decisions just to satisfy the rantings of a few. It’s like road rage: Mention anything religious to these people and they’ll keep rocking the boat until everybody falls into the water.”
McNair correctly sees what’s being done to Christmas as part of a much larger assault on American values.
“Look at what they’re doing to the English language,” he suggests. “I know of schools where they speak in 17 languages.
“Our laws, our language, our traditions: These are the things that define us and they’re evaporating in front of our eyes.”
Though speaking only for himself, he surely speaks for many others who call and write on a regular basis, expressing the same frustrations, the same sense of powerlessness.
“While the other side is constantly on the warpath,” he suggested, “it seems the rest of us are choosing our battles more carefully, getting involved in fewer and fewer, causing that erosion to take place quicker and quicker.
“I wish I could tell you why. Maybe it’s because we’re spending too much time just trying to survive.”
Maybe.
But one thing seems sure: We’re not losing that war nearly as much as we’re forfeiting it. And shame on us if that is so.
Finally a sensible column by Joe Fitzgerald.
Never thought I'd see the day when I agreed with an atheist. But I agree with everything this Rich McNair said in this article.
The only negative thing I can say about this is I wish I coulda said it first.
Merry Christmas ping
Libs can say what they want about the silliness of this cause, but I really think this is a war worth fighting. If we don't protect Christmas now, when will we?
A quick Google search turned up this truly scary plan to turn Christmas into "Sodomas": www.thewaronxmas.com. This IS happening. These people don't joke around!
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Even as a Catholic I can appreciate this man's uncommon "common" sense.
The Glory of His Name
Glory to God in the Highest
The message of Christmas is not about the proclamation of a holiday or the declaration of a season. It is about the proclamation of a Person and the declaration of Salvation. The birth of the child in the manger was an event that prophets had written about, the people of Israel had spoken about, the patriarchs of old had wondered about, and the angels of God shouted about on that glorious night when Christ was born.
If an atheist can figure it out, why can't the rest. Merry Christmas To All and To All a Good Night!
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