You may have heard about Bill O’Reilly’s concern over the War on Christmas. In 2007, O’Reilly even devoted an entire chapter his book entitled, Culture Warrior to “the Battle for Christmas.” It is now 2013 and O’Reilly’s concerns are still relevant.
You also may have heard about the criticism and mockery regarding O’Reilly’s concern. Notable examples include The Huffington Post, Media Matters, Newshounds, (with a recent post here) and Think Progress. Jon Stewart also took a few cracks at O’Reilly over the years. Did I mention there was mockery?
When we take a look at the examples against Christmas in the public square, taken up by those whom O’Reilly calls “secular-progressives” (or S-P), it’s not hard to see what the cause for concern is not just from O’Reilly, but from others.
Last November, The O’Reilly Factor dedicated its “Talking Points Memo” to “Bill O’Reilly: The War on Christmas: The big picture” and mentioned Lincoln Chafee, governor of Rhode Island, who refused to call the state Christmas tree what it was, a Christmas tree.
The O’Reilly Factor has recently been focusing on ObamaCare and the government shutdown, but already this year we are seeing an example on the War on Christmas.
The Wausau School District, in Wisconsin, sought to censor Christmas music deemed religious in nature. Three options were presented, which involved postponing December concerts or leaving out all holiday music. The option which did allow for religious music required that five secular songs be performed for each one religious song. School Board president, Michelle Schaefer believes this is “balanced.”
In their reporting, The Daily Caller describes how “Wausau school superintendent backs down in confused war on Christmas.” Notice how the media outlet also mentions the War on Christmas. The piece is helpful with providing statements and details, and mentions Kathleen Williams, the school district superintendent, as being a player in the controversy.
Williams is indeed a player, and according to wausaudailyherald.com, a performance review on her will begin October 21. School Board member Pat McKee also wants her to write a letter of apology to Wausau West’s choral director, students, staff members and the community regarding the unnecessary controversy.
Citizen Link includes a statement from Eric Buehrer, president of Gateways to Better Education, who says “[t]here is no legal requirement to have such a harsh policy[.]”
In Florey v. Sioux Falls School District 49-5, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis upheld allowing for religious songs to be performed for educational purposes.
The latest reporting from Citizen Link says that the Christmas carols have been restored. While such news is good, it very much demonstrates a cultural problem in our society and that the War on Christmas exists.
A local news source, wsaw.com, includes a statement from the school board. Reporting from CBN News mentions confusion from even the school board on the ban:
Even the school board appears to have been blind-sided by the new ban on Christmas songs.
“What precipitated this change? Were there complaints? If so, how many and from whom? When did it happen? What kind of documentation do we have? I have not seen answers to those questions,” Pat Mckee, Wausau school board member, said.
A piece from Fox News is perhaps the most extensive as far as dealing with a variety of statements from those involved. As the piece by Todd Starnes shows, those affected really do feel as if they are involved in a War on Christmas, and that includes Mckee:
School Board member Pat McKee told me it’s nothing short of a war on Christmas.
“When you look at it on the surface, it’s hard to argue against that train of thought,” he said.
“People are justifiably making that correlation – that it’s a war on Christmas.”
McKee said he doesn’t blame parents, teachers and students for being upset.
“People should be angry,” he said. “People are very, very angry, very passionate and rightfully so.”
Parents also share such a sentiment:
Parent Meg Ellefson said the school district’s decision seems to be anti-Christian.
“I don’t know what else to conclude that it is,” she told me. “It appears to be anti-Christian – unless they are fearful of offending a very small minority of people.”
Whether or not so-called Secular-Progressives believe that there is actually a war on the holiday though, and that they are waging it, situations like these show there is a grave misunderstanding of the First Amendment. We can guess this is all in the name of being supposedly tolerant and politically correct.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sent a letter to the school district regarding the case, and Senior Legal Counsel, Jeremy Tedesco had this to say:
“Misinformation about the First Amendment is frequently what leads to censorship of constitutionally permissible and culturally significant songs performed during Christmas concerts,” added Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Americans are free to communicate what Christmas is about during the Christmas season, and that includes singing Christmas carols at public schools.”
While the matter is being handled, the initial decision did have consequences. Several sources mention that fifteen elementary schools cancelled their holiday concerts and that Wausau West High School’s choral director, Phil Buch, decided not to hold the school’s traditional Christmas concerts. Not only was the policy unnecessary in a legal sense, but negatively impacted the district by doing away with festive traditions.
Fox News does include a statement from Michelle Schaefer:
Michelle Schaefer, the president of the school board, told the local newspaper they just wanted to give teachers a better idea of how much religious music it [sic] “too much.”
“From a school board perspective, we look for music that is balanced,” she said. “Yes, we are a predominantly Christian society, but we are also a society of many faiths and we want to respect that.”
Such a move seems at the very least strange, and it is also worth reverting back to Meg Ellefson’s statements. And as Pat Mckee has said, there was no evidence for complaints.
Schaefer’s statements are truly alarming. If “we are a predominantly Christian society,” then why not let society actually be one? And why do we have to seek out how much religious music is “too much?” Can there even be such a thing?
An objective and expert source, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), believes that “[t]he omission of sacred music from the school curriculum would result in an incomplete educational experience.”
Further down in their statement on the use of scared music, the NAfME mentions discussing the pieces as musical learning, and that older students are able to recognize the neutrality of learning such music.
The NAfME certainly seems to get it. As mentioned above, who says there needs to be a thing as “too much” religious music? Those who are mature and do not spend their time fixating on offending people, understand that music can be enjoyed for much more than its meaning, which does not solely decide a piece’s beauty or function.
Such examples of the War on Christmas which take place in school districts ruin the holiday for those whom it seems should enjoy Christmas the most, children and families within the community. Such a decision made by the school board, no matter the actual consequences, caused needless trouble, controversy and ruin through its silly options and paranoia about causing offense not shown to even be present. The school district may be able to benefit and move on from the matter being handled, but the fact of the matter is that the War on Christmas is already, and has been, affecting us and our society.
Comment by FAMiniter on October 18, 2013 at 6:14 pm
We are a multicultural society and always have been. From the start, Anglicans settled Virginia; Catholics, Maryland; Quakers, Pennsylvania; Congregationalists, Massachusetts; and Jews were found mostly in the northern colonies. The Founding Fathers were mostly deists, and not Christian. Over the decades, America has taken in Buddhists from Asia, Hindus from India, Muslims from the middle east, and many, many others. And agnostics and atheists now make up more than 15% of the population.
The article looks at the situation ONLY from a Christian point of view. It fails to note that American schools do not celebrate Rosh Hoshanah, the Festival of Lights, or Passover, and Jewish hymns are never sung there. Nor are any of the Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist holidays honored, or the music of their religions allowed to be taught to the children.
There is no war on Christmas. Over the last 50 years, the courts have simply recognized that in a multi-religious society, giving preference to one is in fact penalizing the others. So, unless you are in favor of teaching children all of the major religions of the world as part of their education, keep the religious songs to your church, family and like-minded friends, or even to your own parochial school. But let the public schools serve ALL of the students equally.
Comment by Rebecca Downs on October 21, 2013 at 5:26 pm
We may indeed be a multi-cultural society, but we are still, nevertheless, a Christian nation, where Christians, just as all peoples, have the right to express themselves in the public square. Your suggestion that we have to keep to ourselves is the very problem.
But to ban Christmas carols that are religious in nature, or have some sort of ratio, or to say there is too much, is not only needless, but frightening. It’s a Christmas carol for goodness sake! To ban them isn’t to serve anyone equally, but rather take away the joy of the Christmas season and ruin the holiday due to paranoia over being politically correct.
You can deny the War on Christmas all you want, but you may merely be refusing to read the signs. I don’t know what school you went to, but my school district discussed and taught those holidays. I don’t know where you get the idea that such music isn’t allowed to be taught either…
Comment by Dave Gingrich on October 26, 2013 at 10:38 am
Jews do not have a problem with Christmas. Only atheists seem to have this problem. Why is that, I wonder?
Comment by Griffin smith on October 18, 2013 at 10:42 pm
Learn to spell “Chafee.”
Comment by Robin on October 26, 2013 at 11:07 am
The war is not on Christmas – the war is on Christ and biblical truth. No, Christ was not born on Dec. 25 however, Christ was born of the virgin Mary and He is the Son of God. He is Savior and King! Against this they make war!
Robin