A sad and narrow world

To the editor: To the misinformed parent who claims that Santa Claus is a religious figure and that our schools should not allow his appearance at events: I can understand why you don’t want your name to appear in the newspaper. I am a Christian and proud of it. But that is beside the point. The PTA’s Lisa Roca was correct. Santa Claus is not, and never has been, a religious figure. Affectionately imagined as the bestower of gifts to children around the world, he and the tree are mythical and commercial symbols of Christmas. Santa is a symbol of giving. It is very sad that one individual can successfully dictate her views to a school system using a clearly unfounded claim of “discrimination.” In a democracy every individual has the right to an opinion but in a vote on this issue, I believe you, the complainant, would lose. I feel political correctness has been carried to a ridiculous extreme. I have many Jewish friends who say “Merry Christmas” and I reply “Happy Hanukkah.” People of all faiths can enjoy the light in their children’s eyes when Santa arrives with his legendary sleigh full of toys. What a loss for the many youngsters who would have delighted in his appearance at the PTA fundraiser. Mary Bradner Warwick