It’s not about Holly and Ivy, it’s about race

There was a time in America when non-whites were denied access to basic services, education and the common experience of being an American. “You’re not welcome, boy,” “No Irish allowed,” “Whites only,” were commonplace for a long time in our nation’s history. Allowing these groups to participate fully in the American experience would “destroy the republic and the nation.”

Some would argue that mindset still exists, but not to the degree we saw post-Civil war to the late ’60s. At least, that’s what I thought.

Conservative pundits make a bit of hay regarding the “war on Christmas.” I’ve been fairly dismissive of this, at least until a few days ago.

A concert in Hawaii, held for the past six years, was canceled because one man, Mitch Kahle, threatened a lawsuit over the concert. In a statement to the media, Kahle stated “… the constitution prohibits the involvement of public schools and churches.” His point, that the mere existence of a church using a public venue could destroy the separation of church and state, is utter nonsense.

Christians and persons of faith are the new black. Symbols of faith, celebrations of events that aren’t merely confined to churches or synagogues, are the new targets of legal cross burnings and rhetorical lynching.

It would seem the very fate of the republic is at stake if a concert, conceived by a place of worship, is held in a public school gym, to benefit various non-church related charities. Or at least that’s what the new form of racism would have you believe.

“But Dave,” the secular left will scream, “how dare you demand the public embrace religion.” They then launch into a tirade invoking Thomas Jefferson and attempting to set the constitutional context of the nonexistent “separation of church and state” phrase based on letters Jefferson wrote.

What the left will fail to include is the historical context of what was perhaps a concern in the 17th century, but today only applies to the Middle East. This is the reality of the secular left of the America in the 21st century. They see no difference between a third-grade public school class singing Silent Night, and a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv, except perhaps, the child is a villain and the bomber is a freedom fighter.

To those who pay attention to this sort of thing, actions like those of Mr. Kahle come as little surprise. But to me, the capitulation to the inference of a threatened lawsuit is more dangerous than any music concert.

I agree that the worst thing to happen to religious freedom in America is for the government to play favorites or create a sanctioned list. The issue raised by Kahle and others of his ilk are not even a path to that action.

His concern — that fear, that argument — is as baseless and ignorant as those who thought blacks voting would destroy this nation. We do, however, endorse that fear by allowing the thuggish behavior to succeed.

Kahle is a bully. His victims are not the school kids denied an opportunity to perform, or parents prevented from a chance to watch and brag, but kids in places he’ll never see.

The victim is our collective sense of perspective that every day erodes.

Kahle’s accomplices are elected officials and bureaucrats who cave in, under the auspices of reason, to observe some sort of loyalty to a false notion. “Costs,” “conflict in a community,” “tolerance,” are all words or phrases used to divorce responsibility from decisions made with no basis in fact.

Not one person, administrator or elected official in a position to halt Kahle’s farce has stepped forward. Not one.

Similar to what happened in parts of the nation prior to and shortly after the civil rights movement, silence and fear empowers those like Kahle, and makes them bolder.

Imagine the national outcry if someone approached the very same community and threatened legal action to stop the concert because Hispanic kids were part of the orchestra.

That a recently re-elected president took time to speak of the death of Trayvon Martin, but did not see fit to mention the Kahle incident, which occurred in his former hometown, is telling. That he doesn’t see the same tactics, phrases and fears being used against Christmas today that was employed in the Deep South shows how detached he is from the history of this nation.

That few of us see it, as well, shows how low we’ve fallen.

Dave Stieren is vice president of PS Strategies, a full service public relations firm. He hosts The Dave Stieren Show, which airs Monday through Friday from 2 to 5 p.m. on radio station KFQD, 103.7 FM and 750 AM.