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No Place For Bias

The following letter is in response to one by Thomas Ryan regarding the holiday concert at Locust School, published in the December 21st issue of this paper.

Dear Mr. Ryan,

Thank you. I sometimes forget that there are people like you in the world. It is refreshing to hear your opinions.

I sometimes forget that there are people like you, and in doing so, I suppose that I lose that idealism and intense political fervor which I had before I went away to college. When surrounded by a large accepting, smart, and liberal population, as I am at school, I tend to start to believe that everybody is smart, accepting, and liberal. Thank you for correcting this mistake.

I am proud of the fact that I never had to attend high school in Garden City; my parents were kind and generous to allow me to attend a private school, and I am proud of their decision. I am not proud that I live in Garden City. I am not proud of the fact that in my neighborhood, I am surrounded by the whitest, most conservative people on Long Island. I am not proud to be associated with Garden City, that when people ask me where I am from, I try to be as vague as possible. I will move out of this town as soon as possible, and hope to never come back. As a great Jew once said, "But let me tell you why."

I don't mean to bring up the issue of religion. It is a sore one, and history has shown us all that an argument of religion can quickly get out of hand. First of all, if the Christmas tree is not a religious symbol, then why isn't it called a winter tree, or just a good ol' evergreen? The fact that its label has the name of your savior in it kind of denotes the connection between the object and the holiday, and, by association, the religion. It would be ignorant to assume that an Easter Bunny is representative of a time of year and in no way associated with Easter, similarly as the belief that a Yankees baseball cap not in any way associated with the baseball team. It would be difficult to find a Christmas tree in the home of a non-Christian, just as I doubt I would find a menorah in your home.

I suppose what you are saying is that a Christmas tree has been adopted by so many as a symbol of this time of the year that it has lost its Christmas connection, unlike, say, the menorah to Channukah. I'm very sorry that Channukah, Kwanzaa, or Ramadan and their associated symbols haven't been as widespread as Christmas and the Christmas tree, but then again, as our born-again leader has pointed out, America is a Christian Nation. This also raises the points that, according to your statement, neither Kwanzaa nor Ramadan (though it came in September/October) were represented on this card. Are we that racist to say that these aren't reputable holidays? Are we that narrow-minded?

I am assuming that your children, or perhaps just child, have no exposure to Judaism at home. I am sure that you are raising your children as good Christians. I know from experience that there are only a handful of Jews in the Garden City area at any time. I also understand that the role of education in our society is to provide smart and knowledgeable citizens. How can these children be smart and knowledgeable if they aren't exposed to new ideas and different cultures? I applaud the Garden City School System's attempt to teach the children about a lifestyle different from their own.

I guess a good question to ask yourself, though I am sure that you are far too egotistical to accept reality, is if there were only Christmas Trees and créches on that program, and nothing else, would you have raised the issue? Obviously not, as you have failed to note that Islam, the world's largest religion, as well as many other religions weren't represented. It seems that your gesture is a selfish one. I will not call you an idiot in this letter and I respect your religious views. I also agree with your statement that "there is no place in Garden City for religious bias".

Thank you for expressing your opinion.

Jared Schroder

P.S. Winter starts around the middle of November, the Winter Solstice is December 22, and January is certainly one of the several months of winter.

Common Sense

Printed By Request:

Sen. Kemp Hannon

NYS Senate

Dear Sen. Hannon,

The "Village Facts" document currently being distributed seems to signal the last act in the long running St. Paul's drama, so I thought this would be a good time, writing for myself and many others, to thank you for providing a measure of assurance, over these many years, that, before doing anything to undo the "parkland" status of the property, you would have to be convinced that such an action was favored by the majority of your constituents in the village.

Personally, I cannot imagine a presentation so persuasive that it would out-weigh the incoherent and embarrassing history of the last dozen plus years. Various groups of trustees have had conflicting notions, and ad hoc advocacy groups have had others, such as this last one now on the table. Their only shared theme has been that the building must be saved, by any means, and at any cost. The poll taken a few years ago contained no supportive ground swell, and most of the written comments, and there were a great many, were opposed. None of these parties are numerous, nor do they have any real standing. If they got their way, and things went awry, nobody down the line would remember who they were. Your position, of course, is much different. You were elected many times to represent all of us.

We really appreciate your common sense handling of this issue. If there had been more of this used over these years, we would have been, long ago, on to more meaningful issues.

Frank Kiernan

Concert Non-Religious

To the Editor:

I attended the Primary Schools Winter Concert in the Homestead School and left the show feeling charmed and de-lighted. The children were magnificent! Both Christmas and Hanukah were presented in a non-religious way, which is entirely appropriate given that the show was done by public schools. An earlier letter writer complained about the presence of a Menorah and wanted a Nativity scene for balance. The menorah is like our Christmas tree--a symbol of the season without deep religious sentiment. As a parent it is my responsibility to provide a spiritual life for my children, not the public school.

If the letter writer is successful in having all symbols removed from the school--the plastic Christmas tree and the construction paper menorah--so be it. I am sure our creative music teacher can figure a way to make "Let It Snow" interesting and entertaining for 25 minutes.

Laura Mulhall