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After soliciting opinions from the public, a decision has been made on what kind of displays will be allowed inside the state capitol building in Olympia, WA. Unlike last year, when chaos reigned during a battle of religious and non-religious signs, this year should be pretty tame. There will be no Nativity scenes allowed in the building, no atheist statements, no signs proclaiming that Santa wants to take you to hell- yes, that was one of the proposed displays (warning- it is offensive). In fact, there will be no displays allowed from anyone from a private organization.
What will be allowed is a non-denominational holiday tree, intended to avoid suggestion of sponsoring any particular religion or philosophy. Private organizations will be allowed to put up displays outside on campus grounds, but nothing inside any buildings. Steve Valandra, spokesman for the Department of General Administration,told the Seattle Times, "We want to preserve everyone's right to free expression. We just want to make sure we manage things better than they went last year."
Last year, of course, was when things got nasty. In order to avoid the appearance of endorsing any particular religion, Governor Christine Gregoire and Attorney General Rob McKenna made the decision to allow multiple displays in the Capitol building during the winter holiday season, including a Christian Nativity scene next to a sign from an atheist organization proclaiming "At this season of the Winter Solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." This got the attention of Fox talk show host Bill O'Reilly who accused Gregoire of failing to defend Christianity, turning the local issue into a national cause celebre.
Once news got out that multiple displays were being allowed, others got in on the act, submitting requests to post displays including a Festivus pole based on a faux-holiday created by Jerry Seinfeld, and a display claiming the world was created by a "Flying Spaghetti Monster" from an anti-creationism group. Pretty much everyone was offended, parents proclaimed their children were being scarred, and the governor's office received 13,000 complaints.
This year, it seems things should be calmer this winter. 'Tis the season to avoid controversy!
Source: State pre-empts any ado over Capitol holiday displays
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Point: Atheist sign in Olympia full of anger and irony
Counterpoint: Take down the atheist sign, and the nativity scene, too
Comments
Well, to be completely accurate, Jerry Seinfeld didn't "create" Festivus--it has existed since the 1960s. A guy whose family celebrated it became a writer on "Seinfeld" and incorporated it into the show. So it's fair to say that "Seinfeld" popularized Festivus, putting it into the mainstream.
Yeah!! Wasn't that wacky Dr. Dobson who started the whole thing?
Woo hoo! The Atheists win the battle. It was there intent to ensure that there were no Nativity scenes (ie religious displays) in the Capitol building.
it's a Festivus miracle.
I suppose you would call that an atheist/secularist victory. It seems much more appropriate to have some kind of neutral display in the building propper and then let people do their own thing out on the grounds.
Letting everyone put up a sign, while fricken' hysterical, was just asking for trouble. I'm glad they did it though, because the secularists used the opportunity to drive the point home.
I do hope the lobby custodial staff takes the time to ensure that the trunk of the non denominational tree has a high strength to weight ratio and is properly secured in the vertical position.
We wouldn't want to have any accidents related to invoking faith over scientific methods and engineering best practices, would we?
So amusing. The Christians scream that their rights are being violated if they can't put up their displays, and wonder how anybody could object to them. Yet the minute any other displays go up they're the first ones there screaming about how "offended" they are and clamoring for them to be taken down. Always "freedom of religion" is for them and nobody else.
It's simple. Either everyone is represented or nobody is. Sadly the Christians can't handle that so everybody loses.
You can always get your own Festivus Pole at festivuspoles.com
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