A Lump of Coal for Gov. Gregoire

Christine Gregoire does not merit our contempt.  That, after all, would confer relevance on her.  She belongs to the spineless, politically correct herd so desperately trying to dilute the bedrock values that made this country great.  Christmas, a season of joy, now brings an annual, heated debate over state-supported holiday displays.  The people of Washington are lucky, in a sense. They get to keep their nativity scene at the capital, they just share it with a placard bearing a hate-filled rant against believers.  But the governor will not take a stand for good taste and propriety — that would be judgmental and we can’t have that. Some communities have done away with displays altogether and even some private businesses promote the ‘holiday season’ over Christmas.  What’s next?

I am not a legal scholar, just an armchair conservative, but I know that the federal constitution does not prohibit religious expression in public institutions.  The founders never intended that we check our values — and most American’s are predicated on religion — at the doors of public institutions.  Schools and legislative bodies were never meant to be sanitized of any religious influence — nor would we want them to be.  Do we legislate morality?  I certainly hope so.

Because the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a state religion does not mean that we unplug a microphone because a student might mention God at her high school graduation. Likewise, religious displays in a capitol building do not equate to a state religion.

The notion that nonbelievers and practitioners of non-Christian faiths should be protected is a noble one, but the question for 21st Century America is how far do we go to muzzle the majority to protect a tiny minority?  Should one atheist on a football team be permitted to stop pre-game prayers?  Should one anti-religious cadet at a military academy disallow dinnertime prayer for everyone?

Minority rights should be protected, yes, but those outside the mainstream should teach themselves and their children that they are OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM and society will not bend over to accommodate them at every turn.  Even in tax-funded institutions, some values must prevail — they could not function free of values, and even in 2008, Christianity is as likely as not to be the majority faith.

Atheists always cushion their attacks on religion with ‘compassion’ for other faiths and nonbelievers who might be ‘offended’ by religious displays.  In truth, many believers share an unwritten code of respect for people of other faiths.  As a Christian, I would not necessarily object to Jewish symbols on public property.  It is not Jews and non-Christian believers leading the charge against Christmas displays but rather atheists/secularists.  This is not about inclusion, this is an attack on religion.

While I fault the American people for electing the Gregoires, I cling to the belief that most Americans are tough and resolute, it is just our institutions of government, media and higher learning that are weakening the foundations, religious faith being one of them, of our free society.  We have far too few leaders and we should pray that they don’t give up on this country as so many of their fellow citizens have already have.