Yuletide Petulance And Pain

Washington, D.C.
Petulance

“You can’t even say ‘Merry Christmas’ without people getting all sensitive about,” Presidential contender Mike Huckabee complained. According to The Washington Post, in November and December people have been calling attorneys “about everything from public school choirs singing religious songs to Nativity scenes on government property.”

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are likely to go into action when government agencies favor one faith over another, as, for example, when the Air Force Academy’s evangelical chaplains are trying to convert freshmen cadets to become born-again Christians. The most zealous guardians of constitutional purity insist on wishing Christian neighbors “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” One wonders if “Yuletide Greetings” may not also be viewed as politically incorrect because in old Germanic mythology the Yule celebration of the winter solstice had religious connotations.

In opposition to the guardians of separation of religion and politics, Liberty Counsel, an evangelical lobby, has been launching numerous legal disputes against advocates of “extreme political correctness” accusing them of trying to “eliminate religion from America’s public culture.” In Florida, Liberty Lobby is defending a court clerk who was asked to remove a Nativity scene from her office. In Massachusetts, Liberty Lobby is helping a Bible study group in a public school to continue handing out candy canes with attached Christian messages.

U.S. Supreme Court rulings allow secular displays about a joyous holiday, but not a religious display rejoicing about Christ’s birth. As a legal opinion, this distinction may be clear. It is unsatisfactory, however, to those who want America to be an expressly Christian country. The Supreme Court also did not satisfy the First Amendment purists, however, who wish to eradicate all religious expression from the public square.

Pain

While millions of Americans cheerfully celebrate this holiday season and a small minority quarrels about how to do it politically correctly, there are, however, an estimated 1.5 million Americans in very real despair: those who know or fear that soon they will lose their homes. Bloomberg.com calculates that 100,000 people in housing-related industries might be fired and 100 subprime mortgage companies may go under because they lent money to people with bad or insufficient credit.

To demonstrate the pain of foreclosure, The Washington Post described the case of Joyce Griffin, a nursing assistant in Arundel County, Maryland. For two decades she had saved dimes and dollar bills until she had $5,000 that she combined with $5,000 saved by her fiancé, a moving company employee, for the $10,000 down- payment needed to purchase a $123,000 duplex. To make no mistakes, she took a Fannie Mae counseling course for first-time buyers.

She then obtained a Federal Housing Administration loan with a 30-year fixed interest rate of 6.5 percent. On May 15, 2001, she concluded the purchase and moved from her $900-a-month three-bedroom apartment to the $930-a-month duplex. It seemed that Joyce and her companion had finally fulfilled their dream of home ownership.

When they added a back porch, however, the lending company required a refinance agreement at an adjustable 14 percent interest rate. Accepting this change, however, proved to be a fatal mistake.

On Christmas morning 2004, Joyce’s partner suddenly suffered a massive heart attack and died. By September 2005, Joyce was no longer able to pay the $1,127 monthly mortgage payment, and on May 2, 2006, a notice at her door informed her of her property’s impending auction.

The lending company claimed to have earlier notified her of its foreclosure action but she never received it. Worse yet, Maryland does not require proof for the lender’s notice of foreclosure. While the Bush administration was promising help for home owners behind in their monthly payments, it offered no relief for those in foreclosure.

That’s how Joyce Griffin has come to join the 8,500 Marylanders who go into 2008 painfully awaiting the loss of their homes and not knowing where to find another abode.

Wolf D. Fuhrig	Home	12-30-07
Yuletide Petulance And Pain
Washington, D.C. Petulance “You can’t even say ‘Merry Christmas’ without people getting all sensitive about,” Presidential contender Mike Huckabee complained. According to The Washington Post, in November and December people have been calling attorneys “about everything from public school choirs singing religious songs to Nativity scenes on government property.” Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are likely to go into action when government agencies favor one faith over another, as, for example, when the Air Force Academy’s evangelical chaplains are trying to convert freshmen cadets to become born-again Christians. The most zealous guardians of constitutional purity insist on wishing Christian neighbors “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” One wonders if “Yuletide Greetings” may not also be viewed as politically incorrect because in old Germanic mythology the Yule celebration of the winter solstice had religious connotations. In opposition to the guardians of separation of religion and politics, Liberty Counsel, an evangelical lobby, has been launching numerous legal disputes against advocates of “extreme political correctness” accusing them of trying to “eliminate religion from America’s public culture.” In Florida, Liberty Lobby is defending a court clerk who was asked to remove a Nativity scene from her office. In Massachusetts, Liberty Lobby is helping a Bible study group in a public school to continue handing out candy canes with attached Christian messages. U.S. Supreme Court rulings allow secular displays about a joyous holiday, but not a religious display rejoicing about Christ’s birth. As a legal opinion, this distinction may be clear. It is unsatisfactory, however, to those who want America to be an expressly Christian country. The Supreme Court also did not satisfy the First Amendment purists, however, who wish to eradicate all religious expression from the public square. Pain While millions of Americans cheerfully celebrate this holiday season and a small minority quarrels about how to do it politically correctly, there are, however, an estimated 1.5 million Americans in very real despair: those who know or fear that soon they will lose their homes. Bloomberg.com calculates that 100,000 people in housing-related industries might be fired and 100 subprime mortgage companies may go under because they lent money to people with bad or insufficient credit. To demonstrate the pain of foreclosure, The Washington Post described the case of Joyce Griffin, a nursing assistant in Arundel County, Maryland. For two decades she had saved dimes and dollar bills until she had $5,000 that she combined with $5,000 saved by her fiancé, a moving company employee, for the $10,000 down- payment needed to purchase a $123,000 duplex. To make no mistakes, she took a Fannie Mae counseling course for first-time buyers. She then obtained a Federal Housing Administration loan with a 30-year fixed interest rate of 6.5 percent. On May 15, 2001, she concluded the purchase and moved from her $900-a-month three-bedroom apartment to the $930-a-month duplex. It seemed that Joyce and her companion had finally fulfilled their dream of home ownership. When they added a back porch, however, the lending company required a refinance agreement at an adjustable 14 percent interest rate. Accepting this change, however, proved to be a fatal mistake. On Christmas morning 2004, Joyce’s partner suddenly suffered a massive heart attack and died. By September 2005, Joyce was no longer able to pay the $1,127 monthly mortgage payment, and on May 2, 2006, a notice at her door informed her of her property’s impending auction. The lending company claimed to have earlier notified her of its foreclosure action but she never received it. Worse yet, Maryland does not require proof for the lender’s notice of foreclosure. While the Bush administration was promising help for home owners behind in their monthly payments, it offered no relief for those in foreclosure. That’s how Joyce Griffin has come to join the 8,500 Marylanders who go into 2008 painfully awaiting the loss of their homes and not knowing where to find another abode.

Wolf D. Fuhrig

Home

12-30-07

Yuletide Petulance And Pain