Ben Stein Response

Heres my lazy and quick response to this idiotic Ben Stein quote. Im sure there are much better responses out there, but whatever.

My 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, bejewelled 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 crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

So I'm assuming this is a response to the trend of saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, or calling a Christmas tree a holiday tree. Now I'm an atheist, but I love Christmas. But since when is trying to use a more inclusive term that can apply to all people, and not just Christians, some sort of attack? Also i'm curious if Stein would be just as un-offended by say, a Satanist display. 

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.

I Honestly have no idea what Stein is talking about here. How are Christians being pushed around here? Christianity is the majority religion in this country, and about 80% of congress, and 100% of all presidents were Christian. How could there POSSIBLY be institutional "pushing around" of Christians? IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOU ARE NOT BEING OPPRESSED IN THIS COUNTRY. And who the hell is saying that America is an atheist country? What it is is a SECULAR one. Nowhere in the constitution does it say "God", and the only mention religion at all is this: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" Yes Stein, it ACTUALLY says that in the constitution. That means that your favored religions don't get to have special treatment from our government unless that treatment is applied evenly to all belief systems. If the christians get to have a nativity scene on public land that means that other religions should get the same consideration. But since there are hundreds of different denominations and interpretations of all sorts of religions, such public land would be completely LITTERED with displays. So the only reasonable solution would be to allow none at all. THATS shoving atheism down your throat???

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

This contains a very large factual error. Contrary to what Stein thinks, you actually ARE allowed to worship God in this country. In fact, funny enough the large majority of Americans do so on a regular basis.

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 Hurricane 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?”
So because we lived up to the 1st amendment outlawed SCHOOL LED prayer in school (students are still free to pray, form religious clubs, bring bibles to school etc.) God responds by either slaughtering or ignoring the slaughter of hundreds of people? If this is the case then God is evil, plain and simple.

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 a few years ago) 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 neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.
The Bible also endorses slavery and rape. And once again children can still pray in schools, as well as read the bible. Also I'm REALLY confused, didn't you just say that you were a Jew? And you're saying that more God in school would help prevent these terrible acts? Where was God in the scores of child molestation cases carried out in Churches? Or church shootings for that matter.

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 okay.
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.
Yes you shouldn't hit your children, its WRONG. I honestly cannot fathom how anyone thinks this is actually OK. Luckily many European nations have banned corporal punishment, and I hope we follow suit soon. And by the way it leads to an INCREASE in child behavioral problems, not a decrease. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2002/06/spanking.aspx So Mr. Stein, you're just making shit up. I also don't see the relavence in mentioning the mental health of this Doctor's son. Have you heard of the Ad Hominem logical fallacy?

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.


I don't think the world is going to hell. Life expectancy is way up, we're curing diseases left and right, Globalization and the end of the Cold War have effectively ended the threat of global annihilation and large scale wars between the major powers, the rights of minorities, gays, and the disabled have never been stronger... We've got all sorts of problems, yes, nad plenty of tough new problems to face (IE global warming, water shortages, etc. but the world isnt going to hell.
Ok, so theres a good reason why we believe the newspaper, and question the bible. One is a 2 thousand year old book filled with dozens of contradictions that endorses slavery, and the other is under constant journalistic scrutiny, where facts are prized, and making things up leads to people getting fired, and large public apologies.
Also theres a good reason why God is "suppressed" in school. Its so theres actually time for children to LEARN. Thats what they go to school for right? They also suppress discussion on Star Trek, because they want you to be concentrating on your lessons. And at work? Maybe because you should be WORKING instead of talkin bout God. Talk about God on your own time, and talk about Star Trek on your own time. There are times and where discussion of irrelevant issues SHOULD be suppressed.

Are you laughing yet?


YES

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.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein

So in conclusion, it seems Ben Stein is living in some sort of alternate reality. He's hyping up fear that his preferred religions (Christianity and Judaism i guess) are somehow being oppressed, or silenced or.. something. I think what hes really afraid of is the changing demographics of this country, and sanity in the courts, that are suddenly not granting his favored religions the special treatment that they're used to. They are used to being able to have their monuments and displays on public land because nobody challenged them in the "good old days" where any sort of challenge would result in being labeled a communist, or a traitor or whatever, and the Christian majority could continue taking a dump on the first amendment with impunity. And I'm really quite baffled by his insistence on using the bible in schools and at work. First off, its not even your own holy book, and secondly everyone is more than free to use it anywhere else they desire.