Merry Christmas, ACLU!
The American Civil Liberties Union resents displays of manger scenes on public property. That is because a manger scene has what the ACLU doesn't: three wise men and a virgin.
I don't know who said that first, but he got it right.
The ACLU is intent on secularizing every aspect of civil government. So, for that matter, is the U.S. Supreme Court. They work as a team. This has been visible since at least 1961.
THE ACLU AND THE CONSTITUTION
The ACLU has been remarkably effective in banning manger scenes in public locations.
Conservatives blame the ACLU. This hostility is misplaced. The extension of secularization by way of the First Amendment (federal), by way of the 14th amendment (local), into every nook and cranny of the American political system was implicit in the Constitution from the beginning. Christians don't like to think about this, but that was the case. It took until the early 1960's for this process to be completed, but it was always there: Article VI, Section III. I wrote a book on this. Download it here.
The main problem is not with the ACLU. It is not even with the Supreme Court, which has handed down a series of decisions since 1961 that have secularized the American public square. The main problem is that the American public square keeps getting larger and larger because of fiscal encroachment.
The total amount of revenue generated by the tax system does not change much as a percentage of GDP, year to year -- about 35% -- but massive federal borrowing, when coupled with massive Federal Reserve monetary expansion, has enabled the federal government to expand its operations.
These days, when you think of Santa in a sleigh, think of Janet Yellen in a red suit. She has a long list. CNBC got it exactly right here.
With every expenditure of taxpayers' money, the ACLU succeeds in extending secularism into the lives of Americans. Americans keep calling for more federal guarantees in life, especially for those age 62 and older. Congress responds. The state extends its influence in our lives, and the ACLU is right behind every bureaucrat who comes with buckets full of money to make our lives more secure.
Voters pass bond issues to fund local public schools. This puts ACLU lawyers to work checking the details of K-12 textbooks, especially in biology.
Paraphrasing the Dick and Jane readers: "See spending grow. Grow, grow, grow." "See government grow. Grow, grow, grow. "See jurisdiction grow. Grow, grow, grow." "See debt grow. Grow, grow, grow." "See Christianity shrink. Shrink, shrink, shrink."
SANTA AND THE STATE
Santa gets a free ride from the ACLU. There is a reason for this. Santa is the archetype of the federal government. He brings free gifts to all. He makes a list and checks it far more than twice. It is in triplicate. Good little boys and girls of all ages who have been obedient all year, and who have submitted all of their forms, as required by law, will get their rewards.
Basically, voters think of the state as Santa. He is going to come all year round, laughing heartily, to hand out free money to good little boys and girls of all ages. Like delighted children opening their packages on Christmas morning, American taxpayers open their annual rebates from the IRS, which they in fact have paid for. "It's free money!" No, it isn't. It was extra money collected in advance from people who give their addresses to the IRS to get their rebates. The IRS knows where they are.
When you pay cash for some item at a local store, no one knows where you live. So, you won't get a rebate.
I don't think we need to shut down the ACLU. But we do need to put Santa on a diet. We need to shrink the involvement of the state in our lives. We need to be sure that we are not acolytes of a tax-funded system of federal, state, and local benefits from the North Pole on the Potomac.
We hear criticisms about the commercialization of Christmas. We need to hear more criticisms about the federalization of Santa.
CONCLUSIONS
When you take the federal government's nickel, you necessarily take its noose. When the federal government becomes the paymaster, the secularization of the republic will inevitably increase.
If Christians were really serious about their hostility to the ACLU's removal of manger scenes from the public square, they would vote to have every local government auction off the public square, and use the money to reduce its debt. But that is not what Christians mean when they complain about the absence of manger scenes from public squares.
There is always a dog in the manger: the state.
Put Santa on a diet. That is my idea of a Merry Christmas and a happy fiscal new year.
"See government shrink. Shrink, shrink, shrink."