"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg” — Thomas Jefferson
Celebrating Christmas by breaking other people’s things
Another holiday season. Another Satanic Temple holiday display destroyed. Who did it? I don’t know. But the people welcoming its destruction are Christian. And the odds are the vandals are too. Why are these religious folk so fragile?
If I was convinced God was on my side, I would be steeled by the knowledge I was a member of the favored tribe. And I would smile benevolently at all the poor saps who hadn’t got the memo.
Fragile Christians
But some weak-livered Christians in the Granite State (an example of metaphorical false advertising?) lashed out in ruinous rage against a statue that had reduced them to petulant jelly.
This selfish crime against the First Amendment was perpetrated in Concord, NH. It seems the state’s “Live Free or Die” ethos is more aspirational and exclusive than it is a general embrace of liberty for all. People who think others are free to believe as they do have not grasped the concept of freedom.
The crime — with some background
The NH Journal reported the details of the offense in an article headlined “Demonic Christmas Display at State House Destroyed”. Note: The headline writer is either biased or a bad journalist. The Satanic Temple’s (TST) installation was not a “Christmas Display” — duh! Nor does this organization, which clearly states it is a non-theist religious and political activist group, ever call itself “demonic”. The group explicitly states that it does not worship Satan, view Satan as a real entity, or engage in supernatural practices.
Their name is deliberately chosen to highlight their mission. They use Satanic imagery to challenge religious privilege and highlight hypocrisy. It’s working. Anyway, back to the story.
The NHJ’s piece starts by reporting the damage.
Forget St. Nick; someone in Concord may end up on Satan’s naughty list after The Satanic Temple’s Baphomet statue was destroyed Monday night in an act of yuletide mayhem.
The statue of the hooded demon was found broken in half around 7 p.m. Monday night, a few hours after the marble slab showing The Satanic Temple’s seven principles was cracked.
This much we could anticipate from the headline. Next, the piece covers the local authorities’ aversion to free thought.
City officials were not thrilled about the addition to the public space when the Baphomet display went up this weekend on the Concord City Square in front of the State House. The square typically plays host to a traditional nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus
A statement issued by the City of Concord indicates the permission for the sulphuric* statue’s inclusion came under threat of a lawsuit.
(*If you want to alluded to the pits of hell, the correct word is sulfurous)
The City Council explained:
“Under the First Amendment and to avoid litigation, the City needed to choose whether to ban all holiday displays installed by other groups, or otherwise, to allow it. After reviewing its legal options, the City ultimately decided to continue the policy of allowing unattended displays at City Plaza during this holiday season and to allow the statue.”
Christians insist that only they count
The NHJournal then reported how ‘live and let live’ is not a philosophy some insecure Christians have the grit to embrace.
Cornerstone, a New Hampshire Christian advocacy organization, has mocked the display as a childish and insincere attempt to promote an anti-religious agenda, not an expression of actual spiritual beliefs.
It’s quite clever. Cornerstone is trying to get around 1A by saying TST is not a religion. In their words:
“The Satanic Temple are not Satanists. They have no religious belief in any Satan figure. They are normal, atheist feminists who use Satanic imagery as a legal tactic, to fundraise through media exposure, and because offending Christian grandmothers brings a sense of meaning to their sad lives.”
Sadly, even in advancing their argument, they cannot avoid the ad hominem and petty slurs of people who know their position is weak. It raises the question, does religion need a God? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the answer is ‘no’. To them, religion is “human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence.”
However, God only knows what this current Supreme Court might decide. The article continues:
Cornerstone acknowledges there are people with pagan or even Satan-centric religious beliefs, but said those behind the State House display aren’t among them.
Cornerstone explains their belief.
“If you remember the 1990s, you might have the wrong idea about who put up the ‘Satanic’ statue in Concord, New Hampshire this weekend. ‘The Satanic Temple’ is not Charles Manson: it’s just your liberal feminist aunt trying to trigger you by mocking your faith.”
Who hurt these people? Religious people throw oceans of invective at non-believers. But apparently, they are triggered by female relatives.
Predictably, GOP politicians were quick to use this religious brouhaha to their secular electoral advantage. The article continued:
Rep. Joe Sweeney (R-Salem) sent out a fundraising email from the state GOP Committee to Select House Republicans, arguing Republicans can defend against devils real and, like Baphomet, imagined.
In his email, Sweeney explained:
“We know this is another step in a growing push to undermine the values that make our state special, and to make you feel offended and turned off from getting involved. From offensive displays to legislation that challenges our way of life, New Hampshire Democrats have aligned themselves with the extremism that threatens Granite Staters’ families and freedoms”.
Like all people who presume to speak for others, Sweeney uses the plural first and second person. His email better reflects his egocentrism if you substitute “I” for “we”, “me” for “you”, and “my” for “our”.
Christian or communist?
However, his biggest sin is his blindness to irony. Can he explain how restricting other people’s beliefs promotes ‘freedom’?
He celebrates “the values that make our state special.” But what are they? Bigotry, thought control, mindless uniformity? If I’m honest, those sound more like godless communist tenets than American values.
Happy Holidays! Or, if it’s your thing, Merry Christmas!