I’m a little disappointed that Gov. Chafee is attempting to sidestep a skirmish with John DePetro and Bishop Tobin. Call it a holiday tree and let these two continue to alienate themselves from mainstream Rhode Island by acting like dogmatic religious bullies out of touch with the concept of equality.
Last year, Tobin likened Chafee to the innkeeper who turned away Jesus’ parents. A more apt historical comparison would be to say that Tobin and DePetro acted like the Romans who sentenced and tortured Jesus to death.
As a practical and reasonable matter – which of course has nothing to do with what DePetro and Tobin do and say – of course the public sector should call such decorations holiday trees rather than Christmas trees. There’s no church/state separation issue, but one term honors that American value and the other doesn’t. Perhaps more importantly, one term is more inherently more inclusive than the other.
What in God’s name is wrong with the Catholic Church when its highest local official chastises the governor for being inclusive! Catholicism in Rhode Island is fast becoming famous for its aversion to inclusion. No one is flocking to the church because it doesn’t respect gay people or other people’s beliefs. God bless the Church for all the good it does, but this crap is sinking it like a stone.
Catholicism, if it wants to survive, should recruit a spokesman more like Daniel Berrigan – who, by the way, used to summer on Block Island – and less like John DePetro, who’s the meanest person in our marketplace of ideas.
Check out his latest column; the only time he takes a break from being bigot is to pick on the governor’s teenage son. This, folks, is not to be confused with political commentary!! On the day before Thanksgiving, he used his radio show to chide poor people for using food stamps to buy a holiday meal. This is stuff that would make Scrooge blush.
We reported in August that the first time he allegedly “propositioned a co-worker who filed a sexual harassment suit against him was in a bus on the way to a rally to defend Christmas at the State House.” Yep, this is Christmas’ unofficial spokesperson in Rhode Island. Good luck with that one, Christmas…
But God bless DePetro too, for he is also the loudest voice for the local conservative movement too, making him the best tool progressives have in their political tool belt these days.
Every time he tries to incite a culture war, he further alienates the local conservative movement from mainstream Rhode Island. Even Don Carcieri, another fiscally-conservative Catholic from East Greenwich, was wise enough to call it a holiday tree and move on.
Far from being frustrated with him, partisan progressives should love DePetro, for he is a recipe for Republican disaster! My advice to anyone who want to foil the trickle-downers is to buy an ad on his show to help ensure that he stays the voice of the right in Rhode Island! To that end, in a sort of politically perverse way, I’m kinda hoping DePetro and Bishop Tobin incite another Holiday Hatefest.
RI has the nation’s second highest unemployment rate, a $100,000,000+ budget deficit, we face increasing economic competition from Fall River – of all places, we have multiple towns and cities in frank economic crisis and we enter a new legislative session with very little in the way of a plan for how to fix all of this.
And we bicker of the name of a tree, in a holiday season that is supposed to bring us together, rather than force us apart.
Sigh.
According to this morning’s ProJo, last year the Bishop said, at his own tree lighting ceremony:
“We come, of course, to bless and to light our Christ-mas tree, but I know you’ve also come tonight to say to the leaders of our state that enough is enough. We’re tired of the secular and atheistic and amoral agenda that’s taking place in our society… And we’re here tonight to say that you may not take Christmas away from us, and you may not take Christmas away from our community.”
Of course, what the bishop did not know, because he did not attend the governor’s tree lighting ceremony, is that Christmas wasvery much in evidence at the State House that night. The Children’s Choir was in the middle of singing “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” when the governor switched the tree on. It was at that moment that DePetro’s crowd decided to scream “O’ Christmas Tree” at the poor kids, completely destroying the event.
The ProJo goes on to say that the bishop is seemingly resistant to things like facts:
In an e-mail Monday, the bishop’s spokesman, Michael Guilfoyle, said the bishop’s opinion on the issue has not changed. The bishop is inviting anyone interested to attend a Christmas tree lighting at St. Patrick’s parish in Providence Dec. 19 at 6 p.m.
And don’t forget Doreen Costa’s culpability in all this. According to WPRO:
State Representative Doreen Costa said if the governor will not host a tree lighting ceremony at the State House, she will. She said it is “the people’s house” and that if the people want a holiday celebration with a tree lighting she will bring them one. She was unable to provide details of the time or date of the celebration noting she still needs to workout the details.
Now as I write this I’m hearing there WILL be a tree lighting ceremony after all. The news moves fast.
There is no war on Christmas, there’s a war on rationality.
I just have one question for Steve and Bob. I’m curious to know what your reaction would be if the governor just called it a Christmas Tree? I’m ambivalent to whether their should be a tree in the state house but I’m thinking, what’s the big deal if he just called it a Christmas Tree?
My guess? They wouldn’t organize a bus trip to disrupt a children’s concert.
See I think they would organize a bus trip! We are in so much trouble it amazes me that people have the time to be attacking christmas, god forbid a mention of god near a school. If so called proggressives could they would kick in arlington cemetary graves becuase they are crosses. Its a XMAS Tree! Not a holiday Tree. Its tradition, the Jewish don’t get offended, they get a menorah. Kwanza is reconized and anyone else can be. Its liberals with agendas that get mad! Thats the issue. Liberals who want this country godless and gunless. We should all just pray to Allah now because the terrorist are winning. The Insanity!!
Uh, oh. RIL is on to our secret plan to take the “x” out of xmas! Next, mandatory hijabs for soccer moms! (buwaaaahaha)
Who is attacking Christmas? The Governor simply decided not to hold a lighting ceremony for the display in the State House. Nobody is being prevented from celebrating any of their holidays in any way that they want. By the same token, the state will not and should not allow any church, temple, synagogue or mosque to impose with implied government imprimatur the beliefs and ceremonies of one religion – no matter how numerous – over those citizens who do not hold those beliefs.
The idea of a decorated Tree isn’t even a Christian tradition. It was originally used by ‘pagans’ to celebrate the winter solstice and the increase in daylight following that date. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Christmas tree was largely regarded as a Protestant symbol, although the Roman Catholic Church has since recognized it. However, the “Order for the Blessing of a Christmas Tree” in the Roman catholic Liturgy doers include the following: >> 980 According to custom, the Christmas tree is set up just before Christmas and may remain in place until the solemnity of Epiphany. Although the primary place for the Christmas tree is the home, at times one or more may also be placed in the church. in such a case, the decoration of the trees should be appropriate to their use in the church, and care should be taken that they do not interfere with the requirements of the liturgical space. << www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/830/Blessing_a_Christmas_Tree.html
Religion is a personal matter – not a public issue.
Watchemoket,
While I’m not promoting the tree or religion in government, it’s ludicrous argument that the tree is not a Christian tradition. It may not have started out as a Christian tradition but it certainly was adopted as one somewhere along the way. It’s also ludicrous that the governor would put one up and out of political correctness not call it a Christmas Tree. If you’re that worried about political correctness, don’t put up the damn tree in the first place. It doesn’t make any sense.