Here Comes Peter...

St. Paul City Office Boots Easter Bunny ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Easter Bunny has been sent packing at St. Paul City Hall. A toy rabbit, pastel-colored eggs and a sign with the words "Happy Easter" were removed from the lobby of the City Council offices, because of concerns they might offend non-Christians. [Yahoo News]

Further on in the article, a council member wonders "removing the decorations went too far, and he wonders why they can't celebrate spring with "bunnies and fake grass.""

The answer, which is quite plain, is for the same reason the decorations were removed in the first place. So as not to offend someone, in this case, Christians. The problem here though is you have a the second most significant religious holiday on the Christian calendar being juxtaposed with probably one of the leading pagan celebrations (pick your deity, they all worship the spring some how as a time of rebirth). I have long had a gripe about this. Easter falls on a Sunday - always. And every store seems to be closed on Easter Sunday for reasons that I have yet to figure out. The Fourth of July does not cause this fanatical following, and even on Thanksgiving, most stores are open part of the day. But on Easter Sunday, you better have plans to work in the garden because you will not be spending money.

Like the flap over Christmas and good old Santa Claus, the United States has become a nation that is afraid to offend at the same time it cannot figure out what it wants to support. It is this confusion between religion and reality that is at the root of so many of the real issues that are facing the US today and until they are resolve, will continue to divide the country for decades to com