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'Tis the Season to Be Wary--of Litigation
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20058 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1992 |
3,049 Words |
| Author
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Jordan Lorence
Jordan Lorence is an attorney who specializes in First
Amendment cases. |
For many people, Christmas conjures up warm memories: family visits to grandma's house; evergreen trees shimmering with ornaments and lights; majestic carols sung as candles flicker by church altars surrounded by red poinsettias; and kitchens beckoning with rich aromas of holiday treats.
In the United States, Christmas is also the time of litigation, as groups like the ACLU try to obliterate any government acknowledgment of Christmas. Public school officials, especially, feel the litigious wrath of the ACLU and therefore censor holiday observances to avoid lawsuits. The disputes reach absurd levels:
· The U.S. Supreme Court banned a Nativity scene display set up by a Catholic group in the central stairwell of the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh. In the same decision, the Court allowed the City of Pittsburgh to display a Jewish menorah commemorating Hanukkah because it was placed next to a Christmas tree. County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, 492 U.S. 573 (1989).
· A public-school teacher in Seminole County, Florida, prohibited a second-grade girl from distributing Christmas cards to her classmates because the card had Jesus stickers on the back. In the same school district, a middle-school teacher tore up a homeroom art project a group of girls had made because it depicted the birth of Christ. A lawsuit on behalf of the girls forced the school district to settle out of court and apologize to the girls.
· A school principal in North Pole, Alaska, instructed students and faculty to not use the words, "Merry Christmas" at the school. A creative student posted a sign in the school saying, "M---- C--------."
· A high-school choir teacher in western Michigan selected a wide variety of songs for her students to sing at a December concert, including three Christmas carols. Because one parent complained, the school officials censored any references to Jesus Christ in the songs. Later, after a lawsuit was threatened, the school officials allowed the songs to be sung with the "controversial" words.
· Many public schools in the United States have renamed the "Christmas break" to "winter break" due to concerns about the separation of church and state.
This eradication of religion from public life has spread to other areas
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