SOME THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS

First let me say that I am an Athiest. I have no reason at this point in my life to believe in a divine being of any type and don't see any day that I would become a believer.

I also am against organized religion in all forms. I have learned through many classes and much experience that religion is simply not for me. I view all of them as simply organizations that take advantage of people in some form. I also don't think a person needs to be part of an organized religion to believe in a divine being (i.e. God). Last, I will say what I say to anybody who I discuss these beliefs with. Religion is the single biggest cause of war, death and destruction in human history. I simply do not want to be affiliated with any group with a history that most religious groups have.

Now, having said all of that, I want to talk a bit about the use of God in America and specifically about Christmas and attempts to take it out of American society.

I for one will NOT critisize people for celebrating their own religious holidays. I am a firm believer in a lot of the ideals of the Christmas holiday. How can anybody oppose ideas such as peace and good will towards our fellow humans? This along with other ideals are central to the celebration of Christmas. Even though I am an Athiest, I DO agree with these ideals and will not oppose any display of such things.

For this reason and others, I am highly distressed by the attempts of secular groups such as the ACLU and others to take Christmas out of public display. I have heard many stories of the ACLU in particular threatening state and local government organizations with lawsuits if they don't take down what they feel are displays of Christian symbols during Christmas. Examples include the exclusion of religious Christmas music from concerts in schools and exclusion of nativity scenes in front of city halls and other government buildings accross America.

This nonsense has gone to the extreme. I was listening to a radio talk show last night. The guest's son was told he could not attend a dance because he was dressed up as Santa Claus. I could not believe the reaction of these people at the school. Santa Claus for DECADES has been a COMMERCIAL figure with VERY LITTLE in the way of religious relevance.

I think one of the answers to the ACLU and others is for these towns, school boards, etc.... to go to hell so to speak. But unfortunately, most of these town governments can't afford to be taken to court by the ACLU. So, they cave in to them.

Anyway, that is enough for now. I will comment more on this later.

Disclaimer: What is written above are the thoughts of MITCH BROWN only. If you don't agree with what is written here, that is fine. Just don't bitch about it.

Well, I went and visited the folks in AZ over the past week. We went skiing twice, once last Thursday and again this Monday. It was fun. I took a lesson on Thursday. As usual, I looked like a fool, but I did get better. I need to get much better though. The way I ski is murder on my knees. I took some pictures too. I will be posting those later to my Yahoo site.

It was COLD up there. When I left on Thursday, it was 12 degrees. It took me about 11 hours to drive back. My parents live in Lakeside-Pineview which is in eastern AZ. It's really a nice place, it's up in the mountains and there is snow everywhere. The area is lightly populated and there are no skyscrapers. It's a long drive, but it is worth it.

Well, I am back in Northridge now. I am on duty for Christmas and New Years. I am looking foward to my LAST semester at CSUN. I am taking my Masters comps in April. That will be interesting. I need to study a lot between now and then. I am also taking a class called Renisance (sp) and Reformation. I can't wait for that one. I took a class from the same teacher last semester on Medievial Europe which was VERY interesting. I will talk more about that later. Last (but certainly not least), I am doing another internship with Marshall in Special Collections. This one will be paid, which is NICE.

In addition to all this, I need to look for a job. I have to work in my resume in January and send it to as many places as I can. I hope to have a job in an archive somewhere before I graduate. Needless to say, there are MANY changes coming in my life and MANY things need to get done before then.

Anyway, that is it for now.

Take a look at the pictures I took during my visit here.