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May 24, 2012
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Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
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May 23, 2012
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Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
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May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
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The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 10, 2004
/ 26 Kislev, 5765
The dark side of the lights
By
Suzanne Fields
The animating spirit of the Judeo-Christian origins of our democratic government is alive and well despite attempts by those who quail at the very mention of the Divine to eliminate all mention of faith in the public square
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Washington is ablaze with lights, and thousands of them twinkle on the Ellipse, an oval plot designed by Pierre L'Enfant 200 years ago as the back yard of the White House. When President Thomas Jefferson, mindful of the nation's egalitarian origins, heard L'Enfant's plan he said no, it was land that belonged to the people. He designated that it be used as a park for everybody.
Visitors to Washington can now see on the Ellipse the gorgeous national Christmas tree, which was permanently planted in 1978 and is decorated with tiny lights as the season demands. Not far away stands a 32-foot tall Chanukkah Menorah, which was lighted at sundown on Tuesday, the first night of the eight-day Jewish holiday known as the "Festival of Lights." Hanukkah celebrates the victory of a band of Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, over the Syrians in 165 B.C.E. that enabled the Jews to re-enter their Temple in Jerusalem. The lamp in the Temple known as the "everlasting light" had only enough oil for one night's fire, but miraculously burned for eight days, allowing time for more oil to arrive.
These popular icons of religious decoration — the tree and the menorah — are as much a part of the American culture as of the culture of Christians and Jews, brightening the dark winter nights with festive illumination. The lights lift the spirit and testify to the ways Americans live together, honoring different religious heritages brought to these shores by our ancestors.
They remind us that the animating spirit of the Judeo-Christian origins of our democratic government is alive and well despite attempts by those who quail at the very mention of G-d to eliminate all mention of faith in the public square.
One silly example of the misunderstanding of what separation of church and state means is at Stevens Creek Elementary School in Cupertino, Calif., near San Francisco. Several parents complained when Steven J. Williams, a fifth-grade teacher who is an evangelical Christian, introduced President Bush's call for a national day of prayer as an example of a presidential proclamation. They complained again when the teacher led a discussion about the constitutional controversy over the words "under G-d" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The school principal worried that the teacher, in citing public documents containing such words as "endowed by their Creator" and "divine Providence," was proselytizing for his Christian faith. She required that he submit the proclamations and citations for screening before he introduced them to his class. Then certain documents were barred from his classroom.
The offending papers were excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, the "Rights of the Colonists" by Samuel Adams, the "Frame of Government of Pennsylvania by William Penn, the prayer journal of George Washington and an article about currency and coins marked with the phrase "In G-d We Trust." If she thought this was "proselytizing," the principal has a poor understanding of both religious faith and the history of her country.
A lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group based in Arizona, who filed a federal lawsuit on the teacher's behalf, describes the principal's attitude as typical of those who have an "allergic reaction" to any mention of G-d in the schools. That sounds about right to me.
"When it comes to these types of things," says Jordan Lorence, the lawyer, "the cultural norm seems to be that you are allowed to be hypersensitive to any mention of God in a public setting, no matter what the context is. Anyone who disagrees is just an ignorant rube from a hayseed red state."
There are lots of ignorant rubes in Washington and across the country, from states both red and blue, at this time of the year. You can see the proclamations of faith on their front lawns, in their windows and inside their houses as well as the public parks that belong to all of us. But some of us are growing increasingly intolerant in the name of "tolerance," denying children an understanding of the historical underpinnings of faith and the way it made America a beacon of religious liberty.
Aviva Kempner, a documentary filmmaker, is showing excerpts from her film about "The Goldbergs," a popular radio and television program 70 years ago about a Jewish immigrant family. In one of the film clips, Molly Goldberg, the Jewish matriarch, tells a neighbor about what "a smart man" her father was — he caught the boat to America. He crossed the seas for the same reasons the Pilgrims did, she says proudly, "to worship freely."
That's why we set lights ablaze everywhere this season. It's a shame when we turn them out in the classrooms in the name of ignorance.
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© 2004, TMS
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