Separation of church, state a value to keep

The religious right's continuous efforts to inject their brand of religion into our schools, government and way of life is both disturbing and dangerous. It has created a backlash causing the pendulum to swing from a comfortable "reasonably acceptable" to an annoying "politically ridiculous."

One "politically ridiculous" result is that "merry Christmas" is now "happy holidays." Speaking for myself and as a person of the Jewish faith, I'm fine with privately funded Christian displays appearing on public property as long as other religions have the same opportunities. But, that's a far cry from what appears to be the religious right's desire to have government time and money being spent on those displays and governmental bodies espousing their religious rites, doctrine and/or practices.

When I was in public school from 1939-1952, there was no prayer in school. That was left to parochial schools. Now it appears we are headed for an era in which we will have to make a choice: We can make intelligent decisions and go on with our lives while maintaining separation of church and state, or we can do nothing and perpetuate this political stupidity, or we can stand by and watch the religious right eventually take over and gradually convert this country into a theocratic republic in which the essence of the Constitution is preserved but the politicians and judges in power are "guided" by their extremist religious leaders. Something like Iran. Scary, huh?

'Tis the season when everyone needs to lighten up, unknot their shorts, regain political sanity, keep that middle finger with all the others, move the pendulum back and enjoy the season and its message of peace and good will. To those of all faiths, merry Christmas and/or happy holidays. To everyone else, I wish you peace, good health and happiness.

Len Brauer

Palatine