Saturday, December 17, 2011

Gonna Teach Jesus To Read

Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," old friends and new! If you're just happening on this little love fest, please be forewarned: 'Tis not necessarily the season to be jolly around here. This is New Jersey. It gets dark at 4:30, and people's hands rest perpetually on the horns of their cars, pressing violently as needed. Fa la la HONK HONK! Humbug.

We had some road work done in Snobville this summer, and they lopped a little bit of land off the public library property. Our borough Xmas tree is now closer to the street.

Today, when I drove past, I noticed that someone had erected a nativity scene under the tree. Not far away there was a menorah, wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah.

It was the same last year, but the displays were not so close to the street. And somehow it didn't bother me, because, after all, the tree itself is Pagan.

This year it bothers me.

Snobville has a Jewish population but no synagogue. Snobville has a charming Baptist church on Main Street with a huge nativity scene. Do we absolutely, positively need religious symbols on public property? No one asked the Garden State Pagan Alliance for a holiday sign. I would make one, but I suck at art.

Time for Plan B.

I've got 500 little pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution. Tomorrow a dozen of them are going into the nativity scene, all propped open at the First Amendment. Over the protests of the Spare, one will also be posted at the base of the menorah.

I have no objection whatsoever to religious-themed displays on religious or private properties. But my taxes pay for the library, and I don't see a Pentagram on the grounds.

There have been highly-publicized fights about this in other towns of every size. I don't prefer to exercise my snit in a big public forum. It's so much easier to give Baby Jesus a little light reading to brighten his stay in the manger.

If you need some copies of the Constitution for your own community, contact me, email me your address, and I'll get some off to you. I'd have given you more notice, but the nativity scene just went up in Snobville -- so I can't promise delivery by December 25.

But I will deliver.

4 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Hahahahaha! Be sure to glue them on with bulldog glue!

JaAnBe said...

For years the city of Cumberland has assigned employees to help the Episcopal Church erect and decorate a nativity scene and christmas tree on their property. The tree is the top/high point of the main street holiday light display and a lot of people were put out when the issue of public employees doing this work brought the lights to an end. No one seemed to question why the church didn't decorate their own tree. This year a team of volunteers supplied the cherry picker and decorated the tree. As it should be.

Anne Johnson said...

JAB, is that Cumberland, Maryland?

Tante Fledermaus said...

Go get a bunch of "It's A Girl!" balloons and tie them to the creche. Make it fun.