ZGram - 12/24/2001 - "Christmas Eve 2001"

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

Copyright (c) 2001 - Ingrid A. Rimland

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

December 24, 2001

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

In German tradition Christmas Eve is much more important than Christmas Day
- in fact, it used to be that the tree was only lit when darkness fell and
not 8 weeks before, as is the custom here in America.

I stick to my German tradition.  There are still some last touches to be
put beneath our Christmas tree, and therefore, my readers will forgive me
that today I'll "double up" and run a segment from my private monthly
letter that goes to my regular supporters:

[START]

Look what I found just this morning on one of the alternative websites - a
summary of recent attacks on tradition, courtesy of the Washington Times.
A sorry list indeed:

 Humbug! Schools Censor Christmas!

 The intolerant communistic thought police who run America's government
schools are censoring Christmas at an even more alarming rate than usual
this year.

 Consider the following:

  *	The county school board in Covington, Ga., censored the word
"Christmas" from the school calendar after the fanatically anti-religious
group that calls itself American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue,
sue, sue.

  *	Two middle-school students in Rochester, Minn., were punished for -
the horror, the horror - wearing red and green scarves in a Christmas skit
and for concluding, "We hope you all have a merry Christmas."

  *	New York City's notoriously rotten government schools have banned
Nativity scenes but allow the display of the Jewish menorah and the Muslim
star and crescent.

  *	The school superintendent in Silverton, Ore., demonstrated
anti-religious bigotry by allowing secular decorations but forcing students
remove all religious holiday decorations from their lockers.

  *	An educrat in Frederick County, Md., banned employees from handing
out Christmas cards in the school because cards with a Christian message
(but not a non-Christian message!) supposedly "may not be a legally
protected right on a public school campus."

  *	A fourth-grader in Ephrata, Pa., was kept from handing out
religious Christmas cards to classmates.   The P.C. patrol told two
ninth-graders in Plymouth, Mass., that they could not make Christmas cards
saying "Merry Christmas" or depicting a Nativity scene.

  *	A principal in Plymouth, Ill., warned a teacher not to read a book
about Christmas to her second-grade pupils - even though the book was in
the school's library. (What will the leftist American Library Association
have to say about this one?)

 *	Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville, Va., organization that
provides legal representation in cases involving religious discrimination,
cited these examples among at least 50 complaints it has received so far
this Christmas season.  "We're getting besieged," Rutherford President John
Whitehead says in today's Washington Times.

 And educrats continue to wonder why parents clamor for school choice and
turn to home schooling and private schools.

Don't Tread on Us!"

 The second item that I found was written by Phil Brennan, titled
appropriately:  "Don't Tread on Us!"  I quote it in part:

 Those who trod on us in recent weeks have discovered that those words
still apply, with a vengeance.

 But Black Tuesday and its aftermath have affected the national mood in
another way. The tremendous outpouring of good old American patriotism has
destroyed the alleged justification the nation's liberals and their staunch
allies in the media and academia have used to inflict the loathsome
doctrines of political correctness and America-is-always-wrong on the
people of this nation.

 Just look at those in this country who are now blaming America for Black
Tuesday and you'll see they are the same people behind political
correctness, Marxist ideology and just about every other movement to debase
our institutions and curtail our freedoms in the name of collectivism and a
Big Brother state.

 I heard a story the other day that I can't authenticate but which made a
powerful point. Here it is as related to me by my cousin Bill, a retired
Air Force officer and as fierce a patriot as you can find anywhere:

 "They walked in tandem, each of the 93 students filing into the already
crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional
caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard
behind broad smiles, and moms freely brushed away tears.

 "This class would not pray during the commencement - not by choice but
because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it. The principal and several
students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling.

 "They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned
divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their
families.

 "The speeches were nice, but they were routine ... until the final speech
received a standing ovation. A solitary student walked proudly to the
microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then he
delivered his speech: an astounding sneeze!

 "The rest of the students rose immediately to their feet, and in unison
they said, "GOD BLESS YOU."

[END]

The message for my readers is:  Don't sacrifice tradition.  Once done,
you'll never get it back!

I wish you all a very merry Christmas - and may you not be lonely, all by
yourself, tonight!

Ingrid

P.S.  There won't be a ZGram tomorrow because it is Family Time.