Celebrating our differences at the expense of political correctness

To the editor: I am responding to the article in last week’s paper sadly heralding the end of a long-standing tradition in various elementary schools in our district “Breakfast with Santa.” Firstly, given the current trends of political correctness at its extreme, for the sake of the district, Dr. Greenhall took the appropriate steps and it is fortunate that a compromise was met so that there can still be a celebration with Santa in attendance. However, the compromise of a” Winter Wonderland Breakfast” is a sad acknowledgement for our society. And regrettably I am sure that it will not stop with the compromise and before long Santa will not be “invited” to the “Winter Wonderland Breakfast.” The efforts to promote neutrality will eventually result in the loss of our traditions, not just in school, but in our society as a whole. I am saddened by the two lessons that are being taught to our children, the next generation of world leaders, by the article. Firstly, if you believe in something you should stand tall and proud and most importantly, openly for what you believe in. The fact that the parent who started this crusade against “Breakfast with Santa” chose to remain anonymous is promoting a lesson in cowardliness. Secondly, our country was founded and flourished on diversity. Over the last few decades in the name of “civil rights” individuals have chiseled away at our diversity and our tolerance. Wars are being fought all over the world because people cannot tolerate the differences between all of us. We should be teaching and modeling tolerance to our children, by exposing them to the differences between us, so that they learn to accept and cherish what makes each of us unique as individuals and learn to appreciate and respect what makes us different. I grew up in Queens, the melting pot of the world and attended public school. Jewish children attended the school’s “Lunch with Santa” and Christian children attended the PTA’s Passover Seder, sampling foods they had never had before and then during Hanukkah learning how to play the dreidel game. Children of Italian heritage told stories of their heritage during Columbus Day, and during St. Patrick’s Day, we all made “Leprechaun Traps.” During Ramadan, we learned what it felt like to fast by skipping our snack and how to wear a sari. We celebrated our differences and learned to appreciate what makes us each special. The anonymous parent, as too many like her, is confusing civil rights and discrimination with tolerance. With the latter comes protection of the former and until we start teaching our children about our differences and more importantly that it is okay to be different, soon there will be no reason to celebrate anything. I shiver to think what is next. Virginia Snigur Warwick