Nonsense over Nativity

Would it be Christmas in Massachusetts if we weren’t subjected to a tiresome, manufactured controversy about the display of religious symbols in public buildings? Sadly, we’re not so sure.

State Rep. James Lyons (RAndover) again wants to display a Nativity scene inside the State House — and the atheists are again haranguing him for it. As if we don’t have much bigger and more important things to worry about in our commonwealth and in our world.

Last year there was a minor kerfuffle when Lyons was denied permission to display the creche, which to Christians represents the birth of Christ, on the State House lawn. Eventually the display went up inside the building, near a Hanukkah menorah, which has been displayed every year for decades.

This year Lyons plans to display the creche this week for only a few hours during a Christmas celebration. But an atheist group gripes that he is simply making a “political statement.”

Zachary Bos, Massachusetts director for the group American Atheists, suggested to the Gloucester Times that Lyons’ effort is part of some convoluted scheme to raise money for the pro-life cause. He also said he is less concerned about the menorah, because it is “less opportunistic, and it’s coming from a long-standing tradition.”

The atheists’ trigger for what constitutes unacceptably religious is apparently set lighter for Christian symbols than it is for those of other faiths. In addition to being offensive those observations are simply moronic.

Our fondest Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/holiday wish is for people of good will and good intentions on both sides of issues simply to respect the same in others — and for those who serve in positions of influence not to mine our political and religious differences for their own gain.

Those who refuse deserve lumps of coal in their secular stockings.