Have you ever wondered what you would do if a city took your civil liberty and religious rights away? I have actually considered the idea a few times and wondered how I would handle the issue, but never in my wildest imagination have I ever thought it could possibly happen to someone.
Below is a letter I wrote to another enthusiast whom has been discriminated and refused the right to free speech, religion and self expression. Dave is not a right-wing enthusiast displaying distasteful images, he is quite normal, no different than your or I, he is probably a better citizen of his community than most would ever consider, but his city administrators have made a personal battle to refuse him his religious and personal right to celebrate the birth of Christ in his own way, which is no different than Quartz Hill Christmas.
Dave has gone the extra mile to work with the city, but they will have no part of his synchronized display in the city limits, simply because they are too lazy to help with a little traffic.
Our letter to Dave:
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Hi Dave,
I visited your web site (http://www.thecitythatstolechristmas.com) tonight and read every page (That says a lot for me to stay for more than a few minutes).
We feel for you and your endeavor, you seem to be a very patient person, willing to make things right at all costs. I believe you are correct in stating that someone has made this a personal thing rather than a ‘Better for the Public’ matter. I am applaud by your treatment from the cities “BULLY” tactics, it’s unfortunate that this ever happened. Christmas decorating is not a crime in America, if your lights attract more than others do, the city must address the issue of traffic in other ways other than shutting you down. The last time I checked, we have the right to expression, religion, and free speech; your lights are no different from your neighbors, folks just want to see yours and it is easier to address the issue with you rather than deal with the traffics themselves. If they shut you down then they must shut everyone down, it is discrimination and religious persecution for them to single you out rather than resolve the issue of traffic.
A few things to consider in your plight:
a) If the city chooses to set precedence, by citing their ordinance(s), then they MUST enforce it across the board without discrimination against ALL situations and ALL citizens within the city that fall under the same circumstance, if they choose to ignore others and situations alike; it is a simple case of prejudice and discrimination.
b) Possible options would be to petition the block to agree to your modified parking structure.
c) Add the contact names and addresses of the city officials that you have spoken with to your web site. So that others can write them directly informing them of their duty and obligations to your community, possibly when they receive letters from across the nation from families of other communities and cities they will finally figure out how big this has gotten and how bad it could turn out for them.
d) Remember and remind the city officials that this story is very news worthy for national television coverage, and it would be unfortunate to be known as ‘The City that Stole Christmas’, I’m sure your way ahead of me on this.
e) We stand by you! We have added your web address on our web site, and we will be discussing this at the Summer SoCal mini-PLUS and how we might support you and others faced with the same issues.
Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Best Regards,
Rick Williams
QuartzHillChristmas.com
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Please help Dave save Christmas is his community, no good can come from taking the giving nature of the season away! call or write his city administrators and help them understand how foolish and illegal this is, Dave is only one man, standing up to city hall for his rights that they feel fit to choose for him, let them know he may be one person but thousands stand by him and we will not let tyranny rule our world!
Christmas is not a CRIME!
Daves story: www.thecitythatstolechristmas.com
Merry Christmas
Rick Williams
http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/
