SHARE, DON'T CENSOR, OTHERS' TIMES OF JOY

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 5, 1993                   TAG: 9301050444
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
SHARE, DON'T CENSOR, OTHERS' TIMES OF JOY
AS A student of human behavior, I don't understand the conflicts we humans find ourselves in at times. Peace on Earth is a wonderful belief to live by. I can not understand why, instead of censoring the concepts of Christmas and Easter, we can not join together in every religion's celebration of meaningful holidays as a time of love and good will?
To censor a holiday to make some feel better is to also deprive others of a meaningful and sacred experience. Instead of making a federal case out of this issue, why can't we all just enjoy each other's time of good feeling? Taking the words "Christmas" and "Easter" out of school functions will not solve the problem of those who feel left out, as a walk down Main Street or in our stores will attest. Christmas decorations are everywhere, and children and adults of other faiths confront these every day.
Instead of trying to remove these ideas from our school system, we should take this opportunity to teach respect for and share in holidays of every faith. I think God would approve, especially at this time of year. DEBORAH L. DEEL ROANOKE

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB