The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday > Morning Commentary. > > My confession: > > I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does > not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, > bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel > discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees. > > It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I > don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. > In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters > celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that > there > is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in > Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the > Menorah a few hundred yards away. > > I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think > Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think > people > who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I > have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly > atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it > being shoved down my throat. > > Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we > should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we > understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But > there > are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and > where the America we knew went to. > > In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a > little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's > intended to get you thinking. > > Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson > asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding > Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and > insightful > response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we > are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to > get > out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the > gentleman > He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give > us > His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?' > > In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I > think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body > found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, > and > we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. > The > Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your > neighbor > as yourself. And we said OK. > > Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they > misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might > damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an > expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay. > > Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they > don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill > strangers, their classmates, and themselves. > > Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. > I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.' > > Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the > world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but > question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through > e-mail > and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages > regarding > the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar > and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion > of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. > > Are you laughing yet? > > Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on > your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they > will think of you for sending it. > > Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than > what God thinks of us. > > Pass it on if you think it has merit. > > If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you > discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad > shape the world is in. > > > > My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, > > Ben Stein >
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