Peace on Earth?

       Thankfully we have one war ending, the one in Iraq. I'm hoping everything works out OK. Unfortunately there are always wars going on somewhere, some big, some small. One of the smaller ones that gets on my nerves every year (along with "Chia Pet" commercials) is this "war on Christmas". I am on the side of religious freedom and I have no problem with nativity scenes wherever people want to put them. On the other hands sometimes both sides of this issue can get annoying and the media seems to fan the fire even more.
       On one hand you have radicals who want to see nothing religious anywhere they are present. There are radicals (who have to split hairs about everything) in just about every cause however. Also, not all Atheists, Agnostics, or Liberals are like this as there are many who are better friends to religious freedom than some religious people. Many times Christians are rightfully outraged when forced to take any mention of Christ out of Christmas. On the other hand you have some on the other side who seem to get too paranoid. They make it seem like everyone who is not in their ideological camp is part of the radical secularist movement. People then start using Nativity scenes and other religious symbols as weapons with an "in your face" attitude. This then aggravates the other side and I feel it makes things worse. I'm not saying that Christians should "tone it down", just the opposite. I just think that religious (as well as patriotic) symbols have more meaning and influence when displayed with a positive attitude rather than with pugnacity. Even with a positive attitude there will still be some who resist and who react with hostility, but maybe they will be fewer and far between.
       Something else I want to point out; throughout history, people tend to go to crazy measures to distinguish themselves from their perceived enemies, even if they harm themselves in the process. There are many "down-to-earth" people out there who may never touch healthy food or be caught dead with an energy saving light bulb simply because they associate them with snobs, with fake hippies, with pseudo-intellectuals, with new age people, with "the nanny state", with "liberal elites", with yuppies- in other words people they see as enemies or people that they don't seem to fit in with. On another side you may get "progressive people" who may have religious roots -or- they may like country music, hunting and fishing, yet may never be caught dead with any of it as they associate that stuff with hard right wingers and people whom they perceive as bigoted against them. I myself grew up surrounded with cultural Catholicism, (a slim majority of them were probably Democrats). Statues of the Blessed Mother (Mary), and Crucifixes were everywhere, even in not-so-religious homes. I never once associated them with the political right or left, but now it seems nothing is neutral and everything gets associated with "us" or "them". We end up with polemics and this "culture war" mentality that goes back and forth. One side ends up providing "ammo" to the other.
       While I fully support the freedom to display Nativity scenes which also includes the right to be as tacky and cheesy in the presentation as one wants (tacky is subjective anyway), I do have a few suggestions. We don't need expensive material to display a religious scene that's pleasing to God. God is not a snob. However the more reverent a religious scene is displayed the better impression people will give to others. For one is a plastic nativity scene is broken, peeling, falling apart, try to fix it or get a new one. Also putting Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, Nutcrackers, Mickey Mouse, blow-up Santas or other secular figures right over Baby Jesus doesn't help. A Nativity scene deserves it's own spot. Also if there are any Summer lawn ornaments in the way such as pink flamingos just get them out of the way. Even things like security system signs and electrical cords, while sometimes necessary should be kept is inconspicuous as possible. LED Christmas trees should be at least a few feet away and try to take wind and weather into consideration. Most importantly, don't go putting up "Peace on Earth" signs unless you actually mean it.