Wacky Wednesday--Philadelphia Is Right

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

Background: For several years, there has been a “German Christmas Village” area in Dilworth Plaza on the grounds of Philadelphia City Hall. But this year, an undisclosed number of people complained about the “Christmas” part, and so the city told the organizers to change the name on the main arch to “German Holiday Village,” which they did. This has produced a huge volume of protest from around the country. Naturally, I’ll argue they were right to change the name.

~Christmas should be inclusive since Christianity is about God’s love for the entire world.
~Public and government places should not be religious since members of other religions will feel excluded.
~The First Amendment means that an expression of religious identity like this is not acceptable.
~This will offend people.
~It’s not a particularly religious exercise anyhow, since it’s really just a set of holiday themed shops, including Muslim and Jewish vendors.
~Christians are the majority religion and therefore need to be careful about imposing their religious expressions on other people.
~As people who once were terribly persecuted, Christians of all people should be more aware of the feelings of minority groups.
~Does it really change the meaning of Christmas that much to change some silly label on an archway in Philadelphia?

Links:
Let’s call it German ‘Holiday’ Village (Philly.com)
Managing Director: This is about common sense (Philly.com)
Christmas Village fight continues in Council (Philly.com)