The following was written by Ben Stein and recited
by him on CBS Sunday Morning


Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors
was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call
those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel
threatened. I don't feel di scriminated against. That's what they are:
Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry
Christmas' to me. I don't think they ar e slighting me or getting ready to
put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all
brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother
me at all that there is a manger sce ne on display at a key intersection
near my beach house in Malibu .. If people want a crche, it's just as fine
with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a
Jew, and I don't think Christians like gett ing pushed around for being
Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting
pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that
America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the
Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the
idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to
worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting
old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrit
ies came from and where the America we knew went to.

&nbs p; In light of the many jo kes we send to one
another
for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke;
it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the
Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this
happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and
insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this,
just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our
schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And
being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we
expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave
us alone?'

& nbsp; In light of recent events... terrorists attack,
school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she
was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want
prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not
read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt
not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank
our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be
warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed
suicide). We said an expe rt should know what he's talking about. And we
said OK.

Now we're asking ourse lves why our children have
no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't
bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard
enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE
REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and
then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny h ow we believe what the
newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send
'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start
sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and
workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will
not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they
believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

&n bsp; Funny how we can be more worried about what
other
people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then
just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this
thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world
is in.



My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,


Ben Stein

Sorry Ben. I guess you are not as smart as I thought you were.

Mr Jensen answered that question in 1976:

"Because you're on TV, dummy."

We can't get a good head shot of God, or get him (her) to show up on Leno or Letterman.

Or the cover of TIME.

PEOPLE.