Comments on: Obama dodges a ‘Christmas wars’ bullet

By: Will

Will — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:22:34 +0000

Isn’t “non-religious Christmas” what we are stuck with already? Men in red suits, all-covering evergreens and department store sales do not figure in my religion. People treat “Xmas” as though it was Santa Claus Day, or World Peace Day, or International Children’s Day.

(… heading off to recite “Christ Climbed Down…”. Again.)

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By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:47:13 +0000

I agree with dprosenthal and Kent Harker. I suspect most people who are religious are not particularly offended by displays of associated religious symbols at the time holidays of other faiths are celebrated. However, I think many people of faith would object to the secularization of their religious holidays by the government—almost as if the government is intent on defining the “acceptable” symbols of the holiday, even if those that are suppressed may be the most meaningful to the faith practitioner. The attempt to shoehorn Christian and non-Christian religious celebrations that occur late in the year into a secular “one-size fits all” mega-holiday shopping extravaganza could be seen as fairly disrespectful all around. Maybe the government should just give this holiday another name…say…”Retail Salesday”, and Congress could make it a national holiday celebrated on the last Monday in December.

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By: Kent Harker

Kent Harker — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:05:09 +0000

Completely agree with dprosenthal. Respect for all needs to be inclusive.
Why would I be angry with someone for displaying a menorah? It doesn’t infringe on my rights and it’s a beautiful expression of what that person holds dear to them.

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By: dprosenthal

dprosenthal — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:46:00 +0000

The Constitution guarantees us freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion and implies, at least to me, a respect for the faiths and traditions of others.
I am a Jew, fairly observant, and have always enjoyed the beauty, both physical and spiritual, of the Christmas season. It allows me to know my Christian neighbors better and does not ‘offend’ me. Hopefully, others will grant the same acceptance and respect of my religious faith and practices, as well as that of others.
Most religions are based on the spirit of what we know as the Golden Rule, a sentiment acceptable to all people, and encourage respect for others, even if they do not share your religious beliefs, or adhere to no religion at all.

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By: JoeyO

JoeyO — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:14:43 +0000

I agree with PS. For Democrats, is inclusiveness achieved at the exclusion Christianity? Or are all faiths to be excluded in the name of inclusiveness?

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By: Taylor Marshall

Taylor Marshall — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:25:46 +0000

Very interesting. I’m tweeting this!

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By: michael

michael — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:52:30 +0000

I’m not sure why you spiked me. I did not take a potshot at Obama (or anyone else for that matter), and frankly, I would rather that he or any other president remove a chreche from the White House than cynically maintain one in order “to stay in touch with ordinary Americans who frequent mainstream church pews.” Are you suggesting he do such a thing?

I was commenting on a term you employed in your story which ought to qualify as a journalism comment. I don’t believe ‘true secularists’ holds up to any serious analysis.

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By: PS

PS — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:41:44 +0000

Interesting quote in the NY Times article about making Christmas “more inclusive”. I wish the author would have asked what that means? More inclusive to …. non-Christians?? Isn’t that a line that is just begging for further explanation?

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By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:03:50 +0000

I’ve always wondered at the journalistic “given” that someone of another faith tradition (or no faith tradition) is offended by the celebration of Christmas. It would be interesting to know (and not anecdotally) who is offended, what they are offended by, and an estimation of their numbers. Are they are non-Christians of other faiths who are offended by the religious images associated with Christmas? Other combinations are possible—say—1) secular persons who are offended by Christian religious images; 2) non-Christian religious persons who are offended by over-the-top secular Christmas images, but have no real problem with religious images; 3) secular persons who are offended by both religious and secular images, etc, etc.
The answers to such questions might be surprising!

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By: tmatt

tmatt — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:42:23 +0000

Spiking away.

Come on folks. No pot shots at Obama or others. Stick to the journalism issue in this post.

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By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:10:10 +0000

Seems like the inept social secretary dodged a slightly more important bullet — since her failure to properly vet visitors could have led to an attempt on the life of the president.

Maybe that’s why the creche story (which didn’t actually lead to anything, after all) got a less prominent spot in the story.

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