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On Tolerance and So-Called “Political Correctness”
To the Editor:
I am happy and proud to live in this community. I am Jewish, as are my children, who attend the Garrison School. The families who are concerned about so-called “political correctness” are sincere, caring people, but quite mistaken on the issue of so-called “political correctness.” Their outrage is misplaced.
So let’s be neighborly about this. Please understand that our children attend the same public school, by definition a nonreligious setting. Perhaps thirty years ago there were no non- Christian students attending our local schools, and so fewer children were likely to be affected by school policies around Christmastime. But remember that now, at any given time, there will be students in our local schools who are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, or even pagan (I know several local families that celebrate the Winter Solstice). The children have no choice but to go along with what is being presented. I would presume that as Americans who affirm the Constitutional separation of church and state, we would not force our neighbors’ children to practice our own religion. So avoiding religious symbols in the school is not “Political Correctness”. It is thoughtfulness, respect, neighborliness, fairness, and the American Way.
Many Christmas carols and Handel’s Messiah, while wonderful music, are deeply religious music. They contain references to God, Jesus, and to specific Christian beliefs (as opposed to references to trees, or snow, or gifts). In school, where children must go along with the class activities, this type of music should be kept out of the curriculum or at kept to a minimum, especially at holiday time, or placed in the context of a larger, generally secular, program of music.
At holiday time, I accept the compromise made by the Garrison school to acknowledge and celebrate a variety of holiday traditions, to encourage the children to share their traditions, and to keep references to holidays presented by the schools to vaguely seasonal symbols. This year, the seasonal concert at the school included, not only Good King Wenceslas, but also a Chanukah song about spinning “dreydl” tops – not a song with a deep religious theme. It seems like a fair compromise.
So please don’t complain about “Political Correctness”. Choose to be a good neighbor. Don’t make my child enact the role a shepherd in the school performance about the birth of Jesus (an event which occurred in the past), or sing about Jesus, and I won’t ask your child to enact the role of Queen Esther. In school, let your children share their ornaments and cookies, and my children will share their dreydls and chocolate coins. (Chanukah, while a lovely holiday, is one of the least important holidays in the Jewish calendar. If you want to display truly wonderful etiquette, wish me a “Happy New Year” in September.) Respect my beliefs, and those of my family. I respect yours.
Linda Tafapolsky
Garrison
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