Taking Down The Christmas Trees!

I’m conflicted about whether or not to write about this but I am appalled that the Seattle-Tacoma International airport made the decision to remove it’s Christmas Trees due to threats from a Jewish rabbi who threatened to sue them.  You can read the story through CNN’s website.  The gist of the story was the rabbi wanted to put up a menorah next to the tree and airport officials said no.

The quote that really got under my skin was this one:

“We decided to take the trees down because we didn’t want to be
exclusive,” said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt. “We’re
trying to be thoughtful and respectful, and will review policies after
the first of the year.”

What?  Exclusive of what?  A tree?  For a community that considers itself cultured and educated, the folks at the airport certainly don’t know the history of the Christmas tree do they?  For the record, it has no direct connection to the Christian faith so therefore, a tree is not a religious symbol like a menorah.  A menorah is purely religious and is a symbol of Hannukah which begins Friday at sundown.  For a brief history of the Christmas tree, read this article from “Religious Tolerance”.

So why would the folks at the airport capitulate to this rabbi’s demands?  By succombing to the threats of others to incorporate many different cultures are we not ruining ours?  Is American culture not unique and to be celebrated?  Here’s another quote from the story:

“After consulting with lawyers, port staff believed that adding the
menorah would have required adding symbols for other religions and
cultures in the Northwest. The holidays are the busiest season at the
airport, Betancourt said, and staff didn’t have time to play cultural
anthropologists.”

So, is there a precedent for this?  I guess I’m just different in my thinking but if we take the multicultural imperative being forced on us by so many different people, are we not gradually reducing the very freedom we seek to protect by continually capitulating to others’ threats?  If the eventual outcome of our national “all inclusiveness” doctrine is to bring as many people groups together as is humanly possible, will the pool not be diluted as such that not one culture is even distinct?  I’m afraid we’re headed down a road that only leads to a nihilistic attitude nationally even though many cling to their Christian worldview.

At the crux of the silly debate is a symbol of the holiday that isn’t even Christian so why even have this dicussion?  I’m tolerant and wish no ill will to the rabbi or his people but I would have politely told him to pursue his legal options at his own expense and see where it led.  Now, travelers to the Northwest have nothing festive to greet them as they travel in and out of the airport.  The rabbi’s lawyer said it best:

“They’ve darkened the hall instead of turning the lights up,” said
Bogomilsky’s lawyer, Harvey Grad. “There is a concern here that the
Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch.“

That thought should have been considered before threats of a lawsuit were made.  Does it even seem right for a peaceful religion to make such threats?  I’m sure the rabbi and his attorney felt this was a slam dunk when they made the threat and were most certain that rather than ruin the entire holiday, they would allow the display.  Instead, now they have to face the criticism that they alone are largely responsible for this decision.  They along with an uneducated group of executives at the airport that didn’t have the common sense to research the history of the symbol and allow it to stand in a court of law.

Happy Holida…..er..Merry Christmas!