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Christ
at Christmas Timeby
Peary Perry | |
I
like to think of myself as a tolerant person. I believe I am also reasonable
and about as unbiased as they come. I am also handsome and intelligent, but we'll
leave those last two alone for discussion later on.
I truthfully believe
that I am also respectfully of the rights and opinions of others, even if I don't
agree with them. They can be wrong if they want to, I don't care.
I feel
very strongly about a person's right to worship whoever they happen to choose.
It's their decision and not mine. I don't care if you want to worship a tree or
monkeys. If you think these will get you into heaven when your time comes, then
good for you. I'll miss you, but that's your choice. I choose to be a Christian,
and follow that religion. To someone who isn't a Christian it's kind of hard to
explain, but all I can tell you is that I am a better person than I was before
and I believe what I believe through faith.
Now,
last week I heard about something that gets my motor going. It seems that a group
in the Chicago area was planning on having a festival called something like…'The
Christkindlmarket of Chicago. Remember the name, since it's of great importance
to my story. Be sure you remember the first six letters of the name of this event.
The sponsors of the event were accepting sponsors, such as BMW, Sony and others
and they received and accepted an application for a group to promote the release
of a new Christmas movie, called "The Nativity Story". All went well so far. Hang
on, more to come, as you might expect.
The City of Chicago, in their
infinite wisdom, cancelled the promotion of the movie. They said that it was 'too
religious' and 'might offend others in different religions'. Unless the event
organizers dropped the promotion of the movie, they would lose the financial support
of the City of Chicago.
Excuse me, I'm sorry, but I think this is a CHRISTMAS
event. I'll say it again, this is a CHRISTMAS event. For those of you who have
just arrived from some other planet, the word CHRISTMAS is significant since it
clearly defines who the event concerns. It is an event designed to celebrate the
birth of Jesus Christ, who happens to be a central figure to those of us who practice
Christianity.
If you are adult enough to drive or manage to obtain a ride
to any event, no matter what it's called then I would assume that you might have
noticed that the event is about Christ at Christmas time. If it was called King
Kong Market, then you might guess that it might be about something else. Likewise,
if the organizers called it the "December Madness Destruction Derby" you might
get a different idea of what the festival and market was all about.
We
live in a free, or mostly free, nation. Our Constitution established that we have
the right to observe whatever religion we choose. I can choose mine and you are
free to choose yours, no matter what it might be. No one religion is to be preferred
over any other.
Having said this, if I saw an advertisement for a festival,
market or event being sponsored by a Muslim, Buddhist or a Jewish organization,
I could jolly well choose to attend or not attend. That is my choice and my choice
alone. I should not be offended if what they are selling or promoting is offensive
to me. I made the choice to attend and I can leave whenever I want to do so. The
same way I can leave a movie I don't like or turn off any television program I
disagree with.
But, if I choose to attend a function organized by some
other religion and I can determine beforehand that their beliefs or values may
be different from mine by the very nature of the name of the event, then what
right do I have to be offended?
In today's world we seem to be rushing
so fast and hard to be politically correct that we are not allowing for anyone
to stand for anything they believe in.
I do not believe that we can please
all of the people all of the time. Someone is bound to be unhappy with any kind
of decision made at any level, no matter how small or large.
Leave my
religion alone and I'll do the same for yours.
© Peary Perry
Letters From North America
>
December 7, 2006 column
Syndicated weekly in 80 newspapers
Comments go
to www.pearyperry.com | | |
