Tuesday, December 05, 2006

U.T. Nativity Features Joseph & "Gary"

You have to hand it to the Young Conservatives of Texas. They are not your average student political organization, content to hold voter registration drives and invite state politicos to speak at their meetings. These are the young guns who brought us "Border Security Ball Toss" a game in which participants gathered at Gregory plaza to attempt to toss a ball through a hole in the middle of a giant cut out of the United States.
Now they're showing their Christmas spirit via an ACLU-themed nativity scene on campus on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Protesting what the group says is the systematic removal of Christmas from the public domain is a nativity with Joseph and Gary, instead of Joseph and Mary. Because the organization believes the extremist views of the ACLU have a direct negative impact on religious freedom of expression, they also feature a terrorist shepherd and Nancy Pelosi as an angel with the Three Wise Men depicted as Lenin, Stalin and Marx. Pictures can be seen here.
While I think it is important to retain religious expression and the right to display holiday ornamentations related to your religious celebration of choice, I'm not so certain everyone would agree, especially conservatives. If this particular nativity scene had featured a completely pro-homosexual marriage and family angle, the ultra religious factions would be screaming like Lucifer himself had a family portrait on display.
What about a display commemorating the most important Muslim feast day, Eid al-Adha, which starts on December 31st? Can you ensure the decorations wouldn't be vandalized by some ignorant person who believes all Muslims must be evil terrorists?
If we are going to fight for freedom, we need to be able to uphold the rights of all Americans, not just the ones whose beliefs most closely match our own.

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