If I hear one more right-wing pundit screed against Democrats trying to destroy Christmas and Christians, I'm going to do something desperate.

For the past three days I've been closeted in a darkened windowless video edit suite with a devout Roman Catholic (female) and two verging-on-middle-age male agnostics. The only ones who respect, and delight in, Christmas are the Catholic and myself (a Baptist), both Democrats and Kerry voters. The two agnostics are passionate Bush supporters.

I am unaware of a single Democratic Party initiative to undermine or eliminate Christmas. But I do acknowledge that two members of my family and two of my closest friends are Jewish and that I believe both courtesy and enlightenment dictate that I should be respectful of and interested in their traditions as well as my own. Yes, we're probably the only house on the street to have both a menorah and a Christmas tree in the window -- so what? It's our house.

Government buildings and taxpayer moneys, in my view, are analogous to a multi-cultural home. If the only ones who are welcome are Christians, then why should the others be required to help pay the mortgage?