This past week a sad story broke in the local news. It would seem that an eight year old special needs student in Taunton, Massachusetts was suspended and send for psychological counseling for drawing a picture of Jesus on the Cross in a public school.

At first glance I was outraged and looking back at the story now I am glad I was too busy to write about the events of that day.

The father of the child was outraged. How could the school suspended his child for something like this so close to Christmas. They made them pay for the counseling and had embarrassed his child. That was the start of the TV news interview the other night. Then the wheels came off the wagon. He went on to say that he believed that the school now owed him money, he wanted his son transferred to the brand new school in town and even made a suggestion that race was involved. The people involved in this are African American.

The school system was slow, as they should be, to respond to the father’s claim. School systems have to be careful when talking about students records because of privacy laws. So the school took its time to get its ducks in a row before releasing a statement. That night the radio talk shows were full of the chatter about this and how outrageous it was for the school to do this to this poor child. They demanded that the superintendent speak about this. How dare she not speak to the press they were saying. Well I do not believe that the superintendent has any obligation to speak to anyone about the record of a student save the parents of that student. The blogs have alive with this story and again I am glad I was too busy to write about it.

The mayor of the town came out with a statement chastising the school system for this. Then the truth came out.

The school system released a statement with the following facts:

The boy wasn’t suspended.
The teacher never asked for a Christmas drawing.
The family wasn’t ordered to pay for the evaluation.
The drawing the father showed the media wasn’t even the same drawing the teacher saw in school.

So it would seem that not all that glitters is gold. It would seem that the greatest harm to this child was done by his own father for he was attempting to exploit his child for money. Yes the school did send the child for an evaluation because of statements that he made and the real drawing that had his name above the cross and he told the teacher that he was being crucified! The school system acted in a way consistent with how school systems should act. If they had not sent this child for an evaluation and something happened, this same father would be on the air waves screaming, “why didn’t they do something?”

There is a moral to be learned here. Don’t run before you can walk! What harm would there have been for the media to wait to verify the story, maybe the school should have come out with the statement sooner. It is not all the media’s fault on this one by the way. And to the father of the year, don’t exploit your children. This father did far more harm to his son than the school did. He looked like a fool on the TV newscast and perhaps has harmed his son in ways that we may never know.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of Americans celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that another 20% celebrate the event as a secular holiday.

Of those who celebrate Christmas, 81% believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to earth to die for our sins and 72% say Jesus was born to a virgin.

Among all Americans, whether they celebrate Christmas or not, 82% say the person known to history as Jesus Christ actually walked the earth 2,000 years ago. Only three percent (3%) say he did not and 15% aren’t sure.

Christians believe Christmas is one of the most important days of the year because it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and those who celebrate Christmas overwhelmingly agree with the central tenets of the Christian faith associated with the holiday.

A survey conducted around Easter found that 79% believe another central claim of the Christian faith–that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Last year at this time, 64% of Americans said they planned to celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, while 27% planned to celebrate in a secular fashion.

These core beliefs help explain why 72% of adults prefer to see holiday signs that wish them “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” at this time of year.

For most Americans, the December holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year.

But, Americans are evenly divided as to whether holiday shopping is part of the joy or something to dread.

Americans also remain overwhelmingly in favor of allowing religious symbols to be displayed on public land and feel strongly that public schools should celebrate at least some religious holidays.

From Here

Twenty years ago today the fuse was lite that ignited the powder keg that became the bloodiest revolution in Eastern Europe. On December 16th 1989 hundreds if not thousands of people from the Northern Romanian Town of Timisoara poured into the streets and gathered outside the house of Laszlo Tokes, a Protestant clergyman who had received orders to leave the city and move to a remote rural parish for criticising the Ceausescu regime. Events quickly rose to a fever pitch and it turned the tide in Romania and began a brush fire that in a few short days would light the whole of the Country and free her people.

The Ceausescu regime was one of the most brutal on the face of the earth and most of Romanian’s 23 million people were enslaved by this mad man and his equally mas wife Elena. On December 22nd the fire reached the Capital Bucharest and the couple, who lived like Royalty, had to flee for their very lives. They were eventually captured and violently executed on Christmas Day 1989.

I remember that night. It was the same year, and the same month, that the United States invaded Panama to free her people from another Dictator. I had relatives living in Panama at the time and since the US was involved all eyes were focused there. The era of 24 hour news just just getting started and all of the attention was focused on Panama. Here is a clip from CBS News as the Walton’s was interrupted to bring the news to the world:

For a few weeks I have been looking around for Towns that will not allow Christmas Displays. I have also said I don’t care if you put up something for everyone just don’t make me feel bad I like to celebrate Christmas. If you want to put up a menorah that is fine, something for Kwanzaa, not a problem.

In Little Rock Arkansas a judge has ruled that the display must include free thinkers like Albert Einstein and Bill Gates. I have no problem with this. We get what we want, and they get what they want.

We live in a pluralistic society and although we may not like what other people think or say they have a right to say it. We have the right to respond to what they say but they have the right to say it.

So MERRY CHRISTMAS to the folks in Little Rock!