Subject:  An eloquent comment from CBS Sunday morning



The following was written by Ben Stein and read 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 crèche, 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 Nick and Jess ica 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
Nick and Jessica 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 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 recently) 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 OK. 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." 
  My Best Regards . Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein