Linus Van Pelt’s Free Speech Upheld in Killeen Court

A judge here in Bell County has ruled a poster featuring Linus from peanuts reciting his scripture verse as he did in "a Charlie Brown Christmas can go back up on a teachers wall, the Killeen Daily Herald is reporting.

It's an iconic moment in television history, in the life of Charles Schulz's comic strip and American popular culture. It's a simple statement of fact. If the teacher were to add stuff like that pastor in Amarillo did in a Santa line at a mall in front of kids,  that would be clear proselytizing. The thing is, and this is indisputable: Christmas exists. Stating why it exists is not endorsing a specific religious denomination.

A lot of people talk about the "framers' intent" when it comes to the Constitution, and a grest many liberties are taken, usually: the founders were largely deist in their outlook ( look that one up in your Funk and Wagnalls) but they did not dismiss out of hand the beliefs of the people they represent.  Asking teachers to make no mention of Christmas nor impart knowledge on why it exists is like saying we should ignore the existence of air.  People can't live without air, and people are going to establish and maintain cultural traditions  for reasons that are religious but also simply because that's what people do.  Don't overthink it. And by the way, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!