I saw a show the other day on HGTV about the Christmas decorations at White House, which are, as you might expect, elaborate and ostentatious. As I was watching teams of volunteers drags innumerable boxes of ornaments and trees arriving from Wisconsin and the executive pastry chef design monumental gingerbread houses and the White House florist directing groups of designers and the White House Plumber and the White House Carpenter similarly busy, I had a few thoughts.
One was, whatever happened to separation of church and state? The other was I can't believe not only how much money is being spent but how much time and effort is dedicated to turning the White House into a holiday wonderland. Laura Bush had the reigns and apparently there was no holding her back with the check book. It's all and good to have a massive Christmas decorating party when the econmoy is working, the deficit is under control and the budgets are balanced, but when we have no fiscal discipline, should we really be engaging in such conspicuous consumption?
Christmas is become more and more of a secular holiday. Heck, my newly minted Muslim sister will celebrate Christmas. Of course, I see your point on this whole thing. Which is why it will be really interesting to see what happens when the first non-Christian wins the White House.