European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 25, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page to the stars and stripes Ann Landers in 1955, the year Ann Landers began writing this column she Drolc an essay Tor Christmas Day. Reader response was extremely rewarding and she has reprinted the column annually with topical modifications. This is Ann s Christmas message for 1988 dear readers today h Christmas All i Toul us we hear tulle of peace on Earth Good null toward men. Yet we know in Many puts or the world there is no peace and in the heart or Many men there is not enough Good will. Our youth insist that civilization h out of resent living in a world they never made. Bal what run Reallon re nude the world it Hod to lire in we claim to be the most humanitarian most progressive nation in the world. But is it progressive or humane to spend More than i trillion Dollar on bomb and missiles that can kill everyone in the world 14 times this to the Sec of the big rip off the uncommitted and the undressed. The blurring of the sexes. Same fear we Are heading inward social decay going the Way of the roman and babylonians. Others applaud the new morality and stare Down those they consider Square with eyes like hypodermic Needles. They said the sexual revolution a symptomatic of a maturing society that it would produce emotionally healthier adults if we let it All hang but did we overload the circuits and promote guilt and anxiety in those who could not handle so much Freedom and so Many choices there is evidence thai suggests this May have been the Case. One of the most encouraging signs of the times is that our campuses Are once again becoming places of higher learning. The hostility and anger of the late 1960s Are gone. Students have settled Down to serious business. Thai is he Good news. The bad news is that an awesome amount of alcohol is consumed on most College campuses and marijuana and stronger mind altering substances Are commonplace in Junior and senior High schools. In is apparent that Many souths our leaders of tomorrow Hare opted to Anes Thetie themselves against the pain of growing up and accepting responsibility. Suicide is the second most frequent cause of death among teen agers in this country. The first is Acci dents every 90 minutes a teen Ager in America will kill himself. More bad news is that venereal disease i epidemic and now there is aids for which then is no vaccine and no cure. Every Day we All must make decisions Ibal determine the direction in which our lives will move. No one no matter How Wise can make the Rich decision every Lime. To err is no disgrace. The disgrace lies in not learning from our mistakes not picking ourselves up dusting ourselves off and trying again. Because this i an advice column i spend the greater part of every Day a Ltd grief and trouble. Does it depress me no it does not. After 33 years i still find writing this column immensely rewarding. I realize that Many people who write to me Don t want advice. They just need someone who will listen to them. My column has provided me with an Opportunity to Shine a spotlight on ignorance and fear to Comfort the afflicted and afflict me comfortable. I am Well aware that mine 1 an enormous responsibility and i shall try never to let you Down. You my readers Are my friends. You invite me into your Homes and often we have breakfast together. I want to be there for you always. If you feel the need to unload or blow your lop Register a crepe or Tell me off i m As close As your Mailbox god bless and have the Best year Ever. Ann Landers nativity scene controversy addressed the notion that the presentation of a nativity play at a government school is contrary to the doctrine of separation of Church and state is alarming. The Effort to restrict the Public expression of our nation s religious and cultural heritage is wrong and violates first amendment rights. Why is it that almost any subject is considered suitable for discussion in the classroom but the enactment of an event having a Clivous significance is off limits the doctrine of separation of Church and slate was not intended to suppress the Public expression of religious ideas but rather to prevent the promotion of one religious practice Over another. The fact is that throughout our a. Lion s history religious beliefs and Faith have played an integral role in our National life. For instance even today each congressional session is opened with prayer our coins slate in god we Trust and we maintain chaplains in both Congress and the military. The Judco Christian heritage is a vital building Block of our society and embodies fundamental values which arc the basis of the freedoms we enjoy today. The Effort to remove a religious expression from our educational institutions is based on the false premise that leaching can be performed in a Neutral non religious setting. Upon what basis Hen should moral values be taught and what Neutral body will choose these values Gerhard Kelt Steve Sparks Nancy Sparks. Stu Hjart Wesl gel Many the current controversy Over the nativity play being presented by the a Illigen elementary school detailed in a recent Story overlooks the Only fact that should be considered in the Issue it s factual history just As Darwin is factual history so is the fact of Christ actual history. Whether Christ or Darwin is right is irrelevant. It s factual history that Christ was bom. It s factual history that he performed what we called miracles actually the application of natural Laws thai few knew anything about at the Lime. It s factual history that he believed in a god. Just As Darwin believed in something he called nature that no one has actually seen. It s factual history that Christ was crucified without having committed any crime against any Man or country it s factual history that Christ preached about car ing sharing Loving forgiving kindness honesty and compassion which psychiatrists and psychologists now acknowledge As trying factually essential for mental physical and emotional health and Legal authorities for a Safe and sane world. I suggest to those individuals and agencies who be Lieve that the nativity should not be taught in schools to consider would they initiate a drive to eliminate All references to the crusades the hoi y roman Empire the inquisition the puritans Napoleon Oliver Cromwell and others who perpetuated some of the greatest horrors on Mankind in the name of religion All of which Are historical fact. Let s not limit the knowledge we provide our children to history of Napoleon for example who caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people arid deny them the factual Story of Christ who died for people. Our children deserve a balanced viewpoint about this crazy insane world we live in today created by the Many confused people who believe Man made principle to be higher than the morality Laughl by Christ. . Heidelberg West Germany. Surely respect for the fact that Dodds serves a Mullic Flural population with a diversity of religious. Views would suggest thai a Christmas play about the birth of Jesus our King the father of the entire uni verse is an inappropriate Public school activity. Michael p. Chew Stuttgart West Germany Here it is december again and Lime for the annual nativity play Christmas creche controversy. Were this just a representation of a Holiday legend which has be came secularized one would have Irttie to complain Alhout maybe after All St. Nicholas supposedly a real Bishop of the 4lh Century or such who was remembered for giving to the poor has somehow been Inlo a Jolly bearded caucasian in a red suit who some How despite the pious beliefs of millions of children seems each year to do far belter for inc Rich than he docs for he poor. Yet we Don t Sec any Anming Santa Claus controversy. But the Jesus Story in t just a secularized legend. As a unitarian. I can Sec it As a myth or a parable which docs Tell a truth even if it is not necessarily a historical fact. And myth docs have a role in life. Even though nobody really believes in George Washington s Cherry tree the Story docs have meaning and contains a truth which it depicts in a Way that even a Small child can understand. On this basis i would have no More discomfort with the nativity play or the municipal Christmas creche than t would with Santa possibly less. As a unitarian again 1 can appreciate the words of wis Dom that Are ascribed to Jesus without having to worry Over much whether he actually said All those things printed there in red. But that s not the Way that others Sec it. And there s where the problem lies. How do we present this inescapably religious Story to the children no matter How we present in in the schools we Are forced into teaching religion when we do in. But whose religion How Many brands of christianity Are there out there anyway and what about those of non Christian religions and those most in favor of leaching religion in the schools most certainly Don t want it to be my religion which is taught. There is no Way in can be anything but a Divi Sive Issue our schools arc having enough trouble leaching the Basic skills of Reading writing and counting. Let s not ask them to teach religion. After All we Don t ask our churches to Start their services with the pledge of allegiance and five minutes of algebra. Howard e. Rustle Munich West Germany. I am sick and tired of the Subtle ways religion is being pushed at Dodds schools. It s bad enough my children have to pledge allegiance to one nation under god now they arc having a nativity my a year old said that Good children become an. Gels her teacher told the class this. Advent calendars Are made which is a direct reference to Reli Gion if teachers want to count Down to Christmas choose 30 Days or 20 or 10 Don t tic it in to Chris Sianily. Our family has no religious beliefs. I read the Chil Dren the nativity Story along with other stones Winnie the the lion the Witch and the wardrobe and Grimm s fairy they believed in Santa the easter Bunny and tooth fairy until age 8 or so. God and other superstitions have not complicated their lives. If the nativity play had Only been about the prob lems of a mean tyrant under pressure to find a baby boy and the problems this caused one family Inci Demly named Mary and Josephi would not object to the play being conducted at the school. But some one told the children the play was about the birth of Jesus our King the father of the entire universe. Frankly i thought we tossed the King out along with the Lea leaves into Boston Harbor. Lei s keep promotion of religious viewpoints out of school. Keep Santa and the easter Bunny Only until the children learn the truth and emphasize the importance of sharing togetherness world peace arid Friendship. After All Many of the world s problems arc caused solely by differences in religious beliefs. Name and location withheld Iuro Kan edition co. Jeffrey m Cook Ednor in Chatt it col Suzanne l Phillips Usan Muty con Man Reo. Editor. Caul Agliori manager. Int it in author ipod Runoff Edtl pm Wheaton for Meino aia Elln a Kury Lviv heat overeat. Conui do yet Start and strip Ara not Nec aunly thu Otwal tit to or and Oread by. Tow . Govan Vneil. P0�panmnlo a �n�4w Iha . But Opert command. To appear rank by advancing in into pub Cabon. Inek iding Ift Wirtl Dot not constr Sta by Flat a do. Very Tang atty enuf in nit his Citti Thok a num Avail Toto , a or polio night whup Ragard to act color pkg Lon a. Nim Mil origin Aoa Mariul Iudici phys local Handicap Pott Ful Ifill Leori any Owron uror Patron. 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