Senseless in Seattle

My wife and I have been giving serious consideration to retiring in the Northwest, somewhere near Seattle or Portland. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed visits to each city. As a result of this interest, we tend to watch the news (not to mention the weather) that comes out of both places. This weekend, Seattle took a hit.

It seems that several Christmas trees had been put up and nicely decorated in the Seattle-Tacoma airport, something I’m sure many holiday travelers enjoyed. I’m also sure that many holiday travelers paid little attention to the trees as they fought their way through the madness that fills almost all large airports during the holidays.

But, someone was paying attention. After all, this is America, so what has now become almost inevitable, happened as expected – someone complained. That someone was a rabbi.

The rabbi asked the airport to put up a menorah along with the Christmas trees, to acknowledge and celebrate Hanukkah, which I’m sure would also have been enjoyed by a number of holiday travelers. Again, many travelers would have paid little attention.

Most of us are quite accustomed to seeing both holidays recognized in one form or another. It’s a peaceful coexistence, which seems fitting for the season. But the cloudy weather in Seattle must have dampened the holiday spirit and clouded everyone’s judgment because both “sides” in this teapot tempest decided to get a little hazy and crazy.

First, the rabbi apparently decided to elevate his request to a threat by … here it comes … cue the Little Drummer Boy, please … hiring a lawyer. That’s a step that pretty much squelches Peace on Earth. But, like I said, this is America and that’s what we do in the home of the brave and the land of the free. We get offended; and then we hire a litigator to yank everyone around until we all embrace truth and justice.

This step apparently invoked a Newtonian reaction in the airport officials. They had several options, but they opted for an equal and opposing idiocy – they decided to take down the Christmas trees late Saturday night when the least number of holiday travelers would notice. Doing so probably got the attention of those travelers who would have otherwise paid no attention. Dismantling Christmas trees in the second week of December is a bit unusual.

So, there now, we have no Christmas trees or menorahs in the Sea-Tac airport. Everyone who feels good about that, raise your hands. As I thought, it looks like about 100 out of every million. Now, everyone who feels like these people could have done something different, raise your hands. Yep, there are the 750,000 fellow travelers that I expected. The rest of you are the ones who don’t care, or at least don’t pay attention to this stuff, one way or the other.

The rabbi, well intended though he may have been, did not need to bring a hired gun to the center of the runway at high noon. The airport officials, well intended though they may have been, and somewhat understandably peeved at getting threatened over holiday decorations, did not need to take their trees and go home.

All of these people should have listened and talked and thought and reasoned – and then put up some damn menorahs, for crying out loud. After all, the menorah symbolizes a Festival of Lights and Dedication and, heaven knows, both “sides” could have benefited by some added enlightenment and a little more dedication to the holiday spirit they both claim to celebrate. So could all the holiday travelers. So could all of the rest of us.

The airport officials say that they deconstructed the holiday decorations because they didn’t have the time and resources to deal with everyone who might want to put up something in the airport during the holidays. Well, how about paying attention to the Biblical reminder that, ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” That means just deal with the problem you have, not the problem you think you might have at some time in the future. If the problem actually becomes a big one, then decide what to do in the face of the real problem – not the imagined one.

Jesus, if we can’t solve the great holiday decoration debate at the Sea-Tac airport then how in God’s name will we ever solve any religion-based problem between two groups of people? I’m not taking the name of the Lord in vain there; I’m asking him a serious question.

Now both of the senseless “sides” in Seattle are feeling bad. The Jewish community is feeling like they’ll be seen as the Grinch who stole the Christmas lights in the name of the Hanukkah lights. The Christians are feeling like victims of yet another skirmish in the often mindless battle for political correctness, a battle that often results in an inclusiveness that is so broad that it excludes diversity, or an insistence on diversity that is so narrow that it defies inclusiveness. Balance, people! Let’s find the middle way!

Portland, we’re watching and hoping that you’ll do a little better on this score.