First, it is not a surprise to readers of this web log that I enjoy poking fun at the political correctness that results in things like the elimination of the word Christmas. As I was attending our local back to school open house, I observed the sign-up sheets for parental help at the following holiday parties: Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Holiday. It needs no comment.
There are four holiday parties.
Second, more than I enjoy poking fun at political correctness, I enjoy cookies, and there is a tradition that parents will bring cookies to the open house. I noted this, and C reminded me that parents were asked to bring store packaged cookies only. That is to say, leave Grandma’s cookies at home. Today, I learned that the same rule applies to the several holiday parties; bring your store-bought treats, but leave your home-baked goods at home. It seems someone is afraid that not everyone’s kitchen is as clean as his or the school’s or your local grocer’s.
But lo! A few parents brought homemade cookies anyway! This got me to working on an idea. Martin Luther King Jr., in Letter from Birmingham Jail, defends the Biblical idea that “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” I would not elevate the fight for homemade cookies to the level of the fight for civil rights. The fight for Christmas may someday approach it. I am compelled, however, to note that the perpetual fight for liberty is at the core of all three, and that one cannot dismiss the cookie rules as the harmless regulation of a misguided do-gooder. With apologies to Dr. King, a thoughtful man might conclude that “one has a moral responsibility to scoff at stupid rules and wantonly disobey asinine suggestions…with a smile.”