Hillsborough holiday fuss is a lesson in disrespect
By HOWARD TROXLER
Published November 6, 2005
Okay, just to be clear, here is what the new policy of the Hillsborough County School Board said:
They would still have the same number of school holidays.
They would still have a two-week winter break, which would always include the Christmas holiday.
They would still have a one-week spring break, which might or might not coincide with Easter. Just like always.
They would still have several other holidays that fall throughout the year.
The only difference was what they would not automatically make certain days of religious significance a school holiday, namely, Good Friday, Yom Kippur and the Monday after Easter.
But if parents wanted to keep their kid out of school for a religious date when school was scheduled, they could do so without penalty.
The reason for this new policy was that a Muslim group had asked to add another school holiday for the end of the month of Ramadan, known as Eid al-Fitr.
The School Board decided that instead of tacking on more and more holidays tied to religious calendars, it would better just to have, you know, school holidays.
Let people observe their own religion as they saw fit.
A big controversy sprang up. A member of the Hillsborough County Commission, Brian Blair, decided this change in holiday policy was an attack on the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Blair persuaded his colleagues on the commission to protest the decision of the School Board, which is a separate elected body. He also took his case to The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News.
"Commissioners and fellow Americans," Blair implored at a commission meeting, "don't let them take this from us."
The "them" in question meant Muslims, liberals, pointy-heads and folks who hate America's heritage. Suddenly, closing school on Good Friday (which some places don't) and Yom Kippur (which lots of places don't) was an essential part of that American heritage.
Now, there was a huge irony here regarding our Jewish brothers and sisters. For once, they got to be in the majority, instead of being lectured about this being a "Christian" nation.
For once, Yom Kippur ranked right up there with Betsy Ross and Santa Claus.
(I would not get too comfortable with it, though. The instant that it serves the purpose of Brian Blair or anybody else, this will go right back to being a Christian nation, you betcha.)
As for our Muslim brothers and sisters, some of them were embarrassed by all this and wanted it to go away. They weren't trying to start a big fight or take away anybody else's holiday. They were just trying to be treated like everybody else.
At the end of last week, the school superintendent, MaryEllen Elia, said she would ask this board this week to retreat to the old policy, at least for now, because the fight has been too distracting. No doubt the board will take the chance.
Blair showed up at Elia's announcement and expressed his satisfaction. "The people spoke," Blair said.
Some of them, for sure.
At the risk of incurring further displeasure, I would like to make one gentle little point, namely, that everybody pays taxes to the government - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, nonbelievers.
That is why the truly conservative point of view in America has always been that the government should not set up one religion over another, no matter which religion has the most votes. I did not come up with that idea. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, those guys did.
Have you checked the census? Folks keep coming here. One day not too far away, Spanish-speaking Catholics will make up the majority vote in lots of places. Whose heritage, exactly, will the government be in charge of enforcing then?
Confronted with an ever more diverse society, the Hillsborough School Board adopted a policy that showed equal respect to all religions. The reply of those who shouted loudest was that this is, by gum, a Christian nation ("Judeo" too, when it fits the agenda) and everybody else should just shut up. Very nice. Good lesson.