Score one for the Grinch in Durham
This past week the Durham Town Council cancelled their annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, then renamed their event “Frost Fest,” allegedly after a private citizen complained to them that the decorations were “offensive.”
Are you kidding me?
So much for the state motto: “Live free or die.”
Even in today’s mixed up, inside out, upside down world I had to do a double-take after reading this decidedly un-American announcement.
Where does it stop?
As a native New Hampshire former resident and 1980s UNH Durham undergraduate and graduate degree holder, I’m stunned by the town council’s blockheaded and flat-out wrong overreaction.
We all know many of the colonies’ original settlers emigrated to this country for the express purpose of enjoying religious freedom, the most precious right of all to them, indeed as it continues to be for many of us today.
People will always have differences of opinion. Suffice it to say, allowing a minority of disgruntled citizens to dictate public policy for all is misguided and contemptibly stupid, and stands against the very principles on which democracy is founded.
To get along best in this world, each of us must learn to respect our differences and the beliefs of others unlike our own, religious or otherwise, and safeguard the expression of those beliefs without interference so long as they are legal and cause no real harm to anyone.
And not just in Durham, but in every town or city in America wherever attacks on our basic rights hazards to raise its ugly head.
Thus even as we seek to make the circle bigger to reasonably include everyone, we must stand steadfast in vigorously protecting our values from those who would take away our individual and collective rights to freely express our culture and traditions as they have been practiced in America for hundreds of years; for ultimately personal expressions as such are what give our lives meaning.
Otherwise, it won’t be long at all before we find ourselves devolving into a joyless, valueless and soulless people.
Think about it.
I therefore urge the Durham Town Council to immediately reverse their Grinch-like decision to cancel the lighting ceremony and placement of decorations, and to unflinchingly refer to the event for what it is and has always been: The Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
In the spirit of the season, let us dare to imagine and strive to create a world of inclusivity, peace on earth, and good will towards all!
Michael Ra Bouchard
Hilo, Hawaii
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