Wisconsin State Capitol Plays Host To Flying Spaghetti Monster In Holiday Display
The Flying spaghetti monster makes an appearance at the Wisconsin State Capitol holiday display to preach the wisdom of the separation of church and state.
Move over, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and all the rest. There’s a new guy in town, and you have to make room for him. Well, you do at Wisconsin’s state capitol, at least. That’s right, folks. The Flying Spaghetti Monster has joined this year’s holiday display at the Wisconsin State Capitol, courtesy of the Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics group at the University of Wisconsin. The group’s purpose with this is to make a statement about expressing religion on publicly owned property.
The rotunda is getting very cluttered. But if a devotional nativity display is allowed, then there must be ‘room at the inn’ for all points of view, including irreverency and free thought.
These holiday displays sit right alongside more traditional Christmas displays, such as a 30 foot fir Christmas tree, complete with a toy train set. These are all these as a result of the failure of a lawsuit to remove religious displays during the holidays dating back to 1984 (though I have to admit, as an atheist, I think it is high time to try again).
Sam Erickson, AHA President, says:
We would prefer to keep our capitol secular. But if the state decides to turn it into an open forum, they have opened the floodgates. We hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to advertise their own viewpoints, no matter how silly.
The group’s brilliant, movie poster style signage says things like, “he boiled for your sins,” and tells viewers to “be touched by his noodly appendage, before it is too late!”
Then, at the end, the sign says:
Think this is ridiculous? We agree! Religious ideas should not be promoted within the halls of government. Protect the separation of church and state, it protects us all.
I agree. Believe what you want. But it doesn’t belong in the public square. Happy Holidays to all!