OFFICE
OF THE MAYOR –
Joseph
M. DiBella
(732)
938-4500, Ext. 2102
Taking
Political Correctness too Far
April
15, 2007 – Recently a resident emailed me regarding a matter
dealing with Christmas. The topic intrigued me, especially since the season had
just changed to Spring. In reading the email, the resident was upset about how
last year’s Township holiday event had been apparently stripped of mentioning
the actual holidays being celebrated. Apparently, instead of referring to the
annual Tree Lighting as a “Christmas Tree Lighting” it was simply referred
to as a Tree Lighting. Perhaps at the time I saw the flyer that was used to
advertise the event, although it was not mine to approve. I likely overlooked
the significance myself. I do recall some residents raising the issue. Trying to
maintain the intent of the holiday spirit, I did not make an issue of the
incident at the time. In retrospect, I should have.
The
fact of the matter is that we need to be able to celebrate freely those things
that all of us enjoy as Americans. The beauty of this country is that we can
freely celebrate our respective faiths and do so without having to worry about
being singled out or denied the ability to openly celebrate. I do not believe
that government should use public funds to promote any specific religion.
However, if we’re going to have a holiday event, why not call it what it
really is. In December, people across the globe celebrate Christmas, Hanukah and
Kwanzaa. In fact at the 2006 Township holiday event, we celebrated each of these
events. Religious songs were sung, various symbols of each event were displayed
and a great time was had by all. The event was celebrated in a way that was
respectful to all those that celebrate some special event that time of the year
– including the singing of plain old seasonal favorites that speak to no
religion at all.
What
the person wrote to me about was “why play games with the name of the
event?” Why call the Christmas tree a “Holiday Tree” or the Menorah
“seasonal candles”? They were right. The fact is that political-correctness
has gone too far and at times I believe it has stripped us of the fundamental
freedoms we all enjoy as Americans. I do not and cannot speak for the Township
or the Council on an official basis on this issue. Moreover, my views
reflect only my own opinion as your Mayor, I plan to make sure that we call
things what they are and that we stop being afraid of the political correctness
machine that seems to regulate what we can say, write and think.
The
Township has many complex issues to deal with; the pending re-evaluation, the
completion of the 2007 budget, the new master plan and other significant
matters. These deserve and shall occupy my complete attention. However, we also
cannot stand by and silently watch as our rights become eroded in the name of
political correctness. To do so makes all of the other things we work for and
fight for seem less important.
Please
email your thoughts and ideas to me at MayorDiBella@twp.howell.nj.us.
Thank you in advance for your support and let me know of I can be of any
assistance to you.
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