Posted on 12/18/2006 3:08:56 AM PST by Clive
Of course Marion Cohen is wrong. And Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, is absolutely right when he says that Judge Cohen's decision to order the Christmas tree in the lobby of the Ontario Court of Justice hidden from view is "so stupid" that he is "at a loss for words."
Mr. Fatah might even have added that Judge Cohen's order was so arrogant that it almost defied description, too.
Imagine, one woman, so full of her own sense of power and discernment, that one day she decided she knew better than anyone else how the Christmas tree might be interpreted by non-Christians, and ordered it moved from the front counter to behind a smoked-glass petition in the back of the offices.
Apparently, before the all knowing judge came along, no one else had had the wisdom and insight to see the affront the tree was giving non-Christians, not even non-Christians themselves. Court officers had received few complaints about the tree over the last several years, and most of those had come from secularists and atheists rather than outraged Muslims, Jews or Zoroastrians.
In her letter to courthouse staff, outlining the reasons for her removal order, Judge Cohen wrote, "I am aware the Christmas tree has been placed in the front lobby at Christmastime for many years." However, "I do not think it appropriate that when the clients of our court enter our courthouse, the first thing they see is a Christian symbol.
"The message to the many non- Christians, who attend our court and are confronted with this symbol, is that they are not part of this institution. It does not belong to them. They are different."
Oh, please. This is taking political correctness to an absurd new extreme.
Can non-Christians go to the Ontario Court of Justice and receive a fair trial? Are Christians afforded special treatment? Are there different laws, line-ups or courtrooms for Christians and non-Christians? Yes. No. And, of course not.
If it were truly the case that the court did not belong equally to non-Christians, then it would be because the laws were being applied unevenly and those who came before the bench were being treated inequitably based on their creed. That would be the true mark that the courts were biased. And if any of those meaningful affronts and offences were occurring, they would be the fault of the court's judges, rather than the maintenance workers and civil servants who annually erect the allegedly outrageous tree.
Even Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had a better grasp of the true nature of pluralism than did Judge Cohen. Speaking to reporters at Ontario's legislature, Mr. McGuinty said, "We''e not asking any one of the ? communities that make up our province to somehow abandon their traditions.
"It doesn't offend anyone when we celebrate Diwali at Queen's Park or celebrate Hanukkah at Queen's Park or celebrate Eid at Queen's Park. That's part and parcel of who we are."
Indeed, the best way to promote understanding and acceptance among cultures, traditions and faiths is to permit the display in public of each of their symbols at the appropriate times of the year rather than banning Christian symbols in a misguided attempt to show how sensitive we Canadians have become.
Robert Frost once said a liberal is a man so broadminded he cannot take his own side in a quarrel. While he said that nearly 70 years ago, he must have seen the tyranny of political correctness coming.
Far too many Western opinion- makers are so obsessed with demonstrating their tolerance of others' beliefs that they are no longer ever prepared to defend the intellectual and spiritual traditions that made the Western world the tolerant place it is.
And don't think that the members of other faiths and cultures can't see the threat to their own beliefs inherent in Judge Cohen's feckless ban of a Christian symbol. They know that if the majority won't respect its own traditions, we cannot be trusted to respect theirs for very long either.
The elite determination to secularize our Judeo-Christian traditions -- which gave us the rule of law and respect for individual rights -- will one day be turned on the minority faith traditions it currently finds so fashionable to preserve.
In the end, the enemy of political correctness is faith in anything other than the omniscience of secular governments, including the courts.
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I believe the most proper response to Judge Cohen is that the tree is not a Christian symbol, so her ruling is absurd on its face. You'd think someone she knows would have mentioned it, but then, it also appears no one she knows has enough education to know this.
Oh! Tannenbaum.
I always thought the CHristmas tree was pagan.
I know where I would like to hide that tree. It might be a tight fit, but it could go. Might make a great decoration viewed as the judge walks by too.
Last night Larry the Cable Guy was interviewed on 60 Minutes (first time I've watched that show in years) and he was asked about political correctness. His response?
"I think some people should get their thumb out of their mouth and grow up a little."
All Jewish people named Tannenbaum have to change their names.
"Far too many Western opinion- makers are so obsessed with demonstrating their tolerance of others' beliefs that they are no longer ever prepared to defend the intellectual and spiritual traditions that made the Western world the tolerant place it is."
That pretty much sums up modern liberalism to me.
As an atheist myself, I'm left wondering what exactly could make you want to take down a Christmas tree. I mean, Jehovah's Witnesses's ringing you at six in the morning to persude you to accept God into your heart, I can see reason to complain about that, yes.
But complaining about Christmas trees? It's like.. complaining about.. The Salvos collecting money, or the Santas around the various malls who give out little presents to children, and laugh heartily.
Well, it's good to see, at the very least, that the courts are making sure they're judging on the IMPORTANT issues, and not on any of the little things, like rape and murder. Bah. I'm going to go chuck another few decorations on the Christmas-gum-tree out the front. I think Judge Cohen would appreciate it.
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Thanks for including this American on your list.
My pleasure, FRiend.
I'm pinging GMMAC too, as we share the Canada ping list.
Welcome aboard!
If this is truly this judge's view of the law, then the Law is absolutely an ass.
.....and so, by the way, is the judge.
Great tagline you got there, and thank you for the lovely Christmas tree.
I'll bet that Muslims likely worry a lot more about having a judge named Cohen in front of them, as well as the disproportionate representation of Jews as lawyers and jurists than they do about Christmas trees too.
Received this e-mail from a friend.
Just about sums it up.
For My Liberal Friends:
"Please accept, with no obligation, implied or
implicit, our best wishes for
an environmentally conscious, socially
responsible, low-stress,
non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the
winter solstice holiday,
practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of
the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice,
with respect for the
religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of
others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2007,
but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great.
Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.
And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishes.
By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal.
It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original
greeting.
It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and
is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first,
and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."
For My Friends on the Right:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!
__
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