The holiday season is here and we’re already hearing about clashes between anti-Christmas “woke” agendas and American citizens who see nothing wrong with “Merry Christmas.”
You wouldn’t expect the battle to be as common in most southern states, as they tend to lean conservative — but the clash just struck in Arkansas.
And thanks to several outraged citizens and a determined organizer, Christmas gets a big victory.
It happened in the town of Eureka Springs, where they’ve erected a nativity scene every Christmas season since 1950. It has been a mainstay of the town’s holiday celebrations ever since.
However, town Mayor Robert Berry told the display’s organizer that he had to take it down this year.
That’s because an unnamed Eureka Springs resident threatened to sue the town, claiming the nativity scene violated his First Amendment rights. Organizer Randall Christy was furious at the decision:
That’s all you’ve got to do nowadays to get city governments to cave in. You just have to threaten a lawsuit.
They’re going to scramble and avoid their court costs even though they’ve got an attorney on file. If it’s all about Jesus, it’s not even worth a few hundred dollars of court costs.
To avoid the potentially costly lawsuit, the Mayor ordered the long-running Christmas scene to be removed.
But Christy refused and when the news hit social media, outraged citizens expressed their full support of Christy and the nativity scene. The backlash quickly made the Mayor relent, and he’s now allowing the scene.
Provided Christy pays the $25 fee for the permit, the Christmas display will go up, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Mayor Berry said in a statement:
We’re going to have to be inclusive and allow everybody and all things in relation to Christmas season to be able to be displayed.
It’s kind of being inclusive and not discriminating against one religion or another. And I think that’s personally what Christmas is all about — being inclusive.
The city is now creating a resolution for similar displays in the future, so hopefully this issue won’t come up again.
Berry told the Washington Examiner that they want “all citizens to have the right to express their secular view during this holiday season.” However, many say one person shouldn’t determine something that affects the entire town.
That’s a common complaint for millions of Americans right now:
Those in the extreme minority are able to dictate what happens in the entire country, because those in charge are afraid of offending someone or hurting their feelings.
At least in this case, common sense prevailed — and the First Amendment rights of those who wish to celebrate Christmas were not violated.
Key Takeaways:
- A town in Arkansas ordered the removal of a nativity scene that has been part of the decorations since 1950.
- One resident threatened to sue if it wasn’t removed, claiming the scene violated his First Amendment rights.
- But major public backlash caused the Mayor to relent, and the nativity is going up.
