The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by
him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, Sunday, 12/18/05
.
Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my
beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see
them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my
dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores.
They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it
change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why
are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do
not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.
Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a
subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are.
If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.
Next 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
crèche, 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 Nick and Jessica 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
Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we
knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for
a laugh, this is a little different: This is not
intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended
to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early
Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let
something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina)
Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful
response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened
by this, just as we are, but for years we've been
telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of
our government and to get out of our lives. And being
the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed
out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing
and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"
In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school
shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine
Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found
recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our
schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better
not read the Bible in school . the Bible says thou
shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your
neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our
children when they misbehave because their little
personalities would be warped and we might damage
their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed
suicide). We said an expert should know what he's
talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking
ourselves why our children have no conscience, why
they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't
bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and
themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and
hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a
great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and
then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how
we believe what the newspapers say, but question what
the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through
e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you
start sending messages regarding the Lord, people
think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude,
vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed
in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this
message, you will not send it to many on your address
list because you're not sure what they believe, or
what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how
we can be more worried about what other people think
of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just
discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you
discard this thought process, don't sit back and
complain about what bad shape the world is in.
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