Lost tribe of Westwood

The following was written by Ben Stein

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
discriminated 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 are 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 scene 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 getting 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 Nick and Jessica 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 Nick and Jessica came
from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes 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?"

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 recently)
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
expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.


Now we're asking ourselves 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 how 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?

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.

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