Sunday, October 23, 2011

Bein Stein's Confession

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited 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 crïeche, 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 celebrities 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 these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

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