Little-Acorn
Well-Known Member
Yep, the people who don't want things named after "Christmas" or "Christ", are at it again.
The Richmond Christmas Parade in Virginia has been known by that name for many years. But no longer.
If you go to the website they've had for that parade for all these years:
http://www.RichmondChristmasParade.org
you'll be automatically redirected to a new title:
http://www.richmondparade.com
where the newly-renamed parade is presented in all its, um, glory. It is now proudly (or is it sheepishly?) called the Dominion Holiday Parade! And the words "Christmas" and "Christ" have been carefully excised from every possible location in the website.
Looks like the anti-Christ advocates are getting started early this year.
Ironically, many of them refer to the phrase "Separation of Church and State" in forcing their abhorrence of all things Chirstmas on the rest of us... apparently unaware that that phrase does not appear in any laws passed by any government in the land, up to and including the Constitution.
Others who have finally gotten that memo, then start pointing to the 1st amendment of the Constitution, which contains a prohibition on making laws "respecting an establishment of religion". They are apparently equally unaware that the amendment goes on to forbid that same government from "prohibiting the free exercise thereof"... and that by their own interpretation, they are VIOLATING the 1st by getting their state or local government to ban the word "Christmas" from parades like this one.
Just think how foolish they will feel when they go through all those faux pas, only to find that the 1st amendment as written, applies only to the Federal government (Congress shall make no law....), unlike most of the rest of the Bill of Rights. States and local governments, in fact, are NOT banned from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" by the 1st amendment, nor are they enjoined from "prohibiting the free exercise thereof". When the 1st amendment was written and ratified, many states had official state religions, and the 1st amendment was carefully crafted to not interfere with that fact!
Those state religions are now a thing of the past, of course, and the courts have further stated that, with the passage of the 14th amendment, the Federal-govt-only nature of the 1st amendment must now apply to state and local governments, too.
State and local governments didn't HAVE to ban "the free exercise" of religion, of course, but under the original 1st amendment, they could have if they wanted.
Interestingly, some of them are starting to want to again. Including, apparently, the government that runs the Richmond Christmas Parade. But for exactly the wrong reason! The entire 1st amendment must now also be obeyed by state and local governments too... including the part that says they cannot "prohibit the free exercise" of religion!
When these people go out to screw something up, they really do a THOROUGH job, don't they.......!
The Richmond Christmas Parade in Virginia has been known by that name for many years. But no longer.
If you go to the website they've had for that parade for all these years:
http://www.RichmondChristmasParade.org
you'll be automatically redirected to a new title:
http://www.richmondparade.com
where the newly-renamed parade is presented in all its, um, glory. It is now proudly (or is it sheepishly?) called the Dominion Holiday Parade! And the words "Christmas" and "Christ" have been carefully excised from every possible location in the website.
Looks like the anti-Christ advocates are getting started early this year.
Ironically, many of them refer to the phrase "Separation of Church and State" in forcing their abhorrence of all things Chirstmas on the rest of us... apparently unaware that that phrase does not appear in any laws passed by any government in the land, up to and including the Constitution.
Others who have finally gotten that memo, then start pointing to the 1st amendment of the Constitution, which contains a prohibition on making laws "respecting an establishment of religion". They are apparently equally unaware that the amendment goes on to forbid that same government from "prohibiting the free exercise thereof"... and that by their own interpretation, they are VIOLATING the 1st by getting their state or local government to ban the word "Christmas" from parades like this one.
Just think how foolish they will feel when they go through all those faux pas, only to find that the 1st amendment as written, applies only to the Federal government (Congress shall make no law....), unlike most of the rest of the Bill of Rights. States and local governments, in fact, are NOT banned from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" by the 1st amendment, nor are they enjoined from "prohibiting the free exercise thereof". When the 1st amendment was written and ratified, many states had official state religions, and the 1st amendment was carefully crafted to not interfere with that fact!
Those state religions are now a thing of the past, of course, and the courts have further stated that, with the passage of the 14th amendment, the Federal-govt-only nature of the 1st amendment must now apply to state and local governments, too.
State and local governments didn't HAVE to ban "the free exercise" of religion, of course, but under the original 1st amendment, they could have if they wanted.
Interestingly, some of them are starting to want to again. Including, apparently, the government that runs the Richmond Christmas Parade. But for exactly the wrong reason! The entire 1st amendment must now also be obeyed by state and local governments too... including the part that says they cannot "prohibit the free exercise" of religion!
When these people go out to screw something up, they really do a THOROUGH job, don't they.......!
