The Sea-Tac Christmas Tree kerfuffle...
Published Mon, Dec 11 2006 6:45 PM
Technorati Tags: Political Correctness, ACLU
Michael Medved brings some balance to the story of Rabbi Bogomilsky and the Sea-Tac Christmas Tree kerfuffle. Earlier, I said that I thought Rabbi Bogomilsky had deliberately provoked the controversy. After reading more on this both from Michael Medved and Woman Honor Thyself, I've changed my mind...
Those of us who are comfortable and secure in our own religiosity (which would surely include the rigorously observant Rabbi Bogomilsky) don’t feel threatened by public displays of faith by our Christian neighbors. Generally, it’s secular fanatics (of both Jewish and Christian background), militant separationists, who have waged war on Christmas trees, ten commandments monuments, crosses, and other benign symbols of the nation’s religious heritage.
So what went wrong with this whole miserable affair?
After two months of indecision from the Port of Seattle (the quasi-governmental agency that runs the airport) concerning the request for a menorah, the rabbi’s lawyer made the mistake (yes, it was a mistake) of threatening a federal lawsuit and the airport people panicked and ordered the removal of the trees. “We’re not in the business of offending anyone and we’re not eager to get into a federal lawsuit with anyone,” said Craig Watson, chief lawyer for the Port of Seattle. Patricia Davis, head of the Port Commission said, “We didn’t have other cultures represented and rather than scramble around to find representations of other cultures at this late date, we decided to take them down and consider it later.”
This is ridiculous, of course. “Other cultures” do not observe popular holidays at precisely this time (the Islamic month of Ramadan is over) and in thousands of public and private locations across the country the abundant, prominent and very beautiful Christmas decorations are harmlessly complemented (if hardly balanced) by menorahs.
Of course, in the current climate of hyper-sensitivity regarding public expressions of religious commitment, Rabbi Bogomilsky and Harvey Grad should have avoided the chilling, unnecessary phrase “law suit” at all costs --- even if the Port of Seattle refused to give them a timely answer on their menorah request. As a result of the threatened litigation, the whole world is witnessing a horrible situation in which the religious enthusiasm (however well intended) of one individual has led to the removal of decorations enjoyed by literally hundreds of thousands.
The threat of litigation was what prompted the removal of the trees. Thanks to the ACLU threats of lawsuit over "holiday displays" have conditioned local officials across the country to remove "offensive" displays rather than opt for more inclusiveness.
Couple that with the extremely quick "out of the gate" rush to fight the war against the war on Christmas from so many out there, and it's easy to see how this could quickly become a "national" issue.
While I'm reasonably sure now that Rabbi Bogomilsky never intended for things to go this awry, it serves as a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences. I think that the true villain in all of this is the ACLU. Without their constant attempts to eradicate every reference to God and religion in the public square this whole incident might never have happened.
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Woman Honor Thyself trackbacked with "Faux News: or The Rabbi Who Stole ChristmaS"
Every holiday season for 25 years there were Christmas trees at the airport serving Seattle..The Rabbi did not call the trees “offensive”, nor did he “demand” they put up a Menorah. What he did say, was that he “would be offended” if they ...
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