Like a Thief in the Night

It starts anew. A public figure pandering decides a display of a Nativity scene on public property and funded with public money is a righteous thing to do.

Locally, this year’s piety started in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. There, a Nativity scene was sneaked onto a public park. When Mayor Thomas Strouf was confronted by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, he spouted some mumbo‑jumbo and said he would pay the cost of the electricity of the display, but whether this will happen is dubious.

In Green Bay, City Council President Chad Fradette seized upon this incident as an excuse to erect his own nativity display. First, he stated that he would wait until the city council had its say on the matter. But, like a thief in the night he erected, with the help of Green Bay city workers (including the Mayor), the prominent display over an entrance to city hall. This was done under cover of darkness.

Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt has waffled a bit on the issue and is discovering that it is not such a popular thing after all. Although this is a Christian majority country, not all Christians appreciate these in‑your‑face ploys.

Fradette and Strouf claim that they will allow anyone to place a display along side their own, and this therefore makes their actions OK. But, this is a dishonest attempt to sneak around a fairness doctrine. Particularly, Fradette’s display leaves no physical space for other displays. And, would this really happen? If I were to place a scene of Moses commanding slaughters, would that be acceptable? Could someone place a scene of the KKK celebrating Christmas?

One problem is that few people understand that the Christian Christmas is a stolen holiday. There is no Scriptural basis for placing the birth of Jesus at the Winter Solstice. But, the Solstice was a happy time for Pagans and Heathens. This was a problem for the early days so; the church leaders commandeered the festivities. A later calendar change separated the two holidays slightly.

Thus, the tree and the feasting and gifts are all trappings of the pagan origin of the season.

The Nativity scenario is mythological though accepted by many as fact. A reading of the first three Godspells, or good tales, will reveal that each author put their own spin in the life of Jesus depending on their own situation. The business of the census was a fabrication that was used to place the birth in Bethlehem which had significance for the author.

But, those who attempt an end run around their own words and good practice would do well to examine their actions. Surreptitious placing a religious scene in the dark of night does not bode well for open government.

Both Strouf and Fradette could put their money where their mouth is. They could both fund the displays of other religions and organizations, and the displays would be from any time of the year. That would demonstrate the honesty and purity of their ways.

And, it is turnout to be an embarrassing headache for Mayor Schmitt. Rather than crowds praising him for his pretensions, people are stepping forward to place their own displays or the displays of others. Good for them. That is the best way to fight this religious bigotry that has seized far too many in the United States.

That entrance to the Green Bay City Hall will be mighty crowded. There will be the Wiccan symbol, Hindu symbols, Moslem symbols, the Peace symbol, and maybe even the VA symbol for Atheists. The next fight will be over the stacking order.