Quad-City Times from Davenport, Iowa • A13

00 1 Quad-City times Sunday, January 15, 2023 A13OPINION Yes, my Christmas tree is still up, all LED-light- cluttered-angel-topped 10 feet of it. I acknowledge that Christmas is three weeks past and that the 12 Days of Christmas ended on January 6th. But there are three good reasons why it continues to dominate the south end of my living-room; each compelling in its own way. The first cites historical prece- dent. During the Middle Ages, the Christmas season did not end till February 2nd, the Feast of the Pu- rification of the Blessed Virgin.

It is also the Feast of the Presentation, and Can- dlemas: three names for a single day. Candlemas was the term given to an English tradition of ending the season by lighting candles made of pure beeswax, using wooden matches for the purpose. They were blessed in bundles for use during the rest of the liturgical year. Presentation refers to the Jew- ish practice of women bringing their newborn sons to the Tem- ple 40 days after their births. Two turtle doves were offered as they were dedicated to God.

There is no mention of the same ritual for female babies. The Purification title seems out of place. According to gospel, that rite had to be completed before the Pre- sentation. Purification was an old practice in some early societies. Men seemed to think women should be ritually cleansed after birth or even menstruation.

Apparently, they viewed the physicality of both as somewhat distasteful, which is why women were al- ways tended by women at such events. Luke uses the occasion to introduce an old man, Simeon, and a prophetess, Anna, who both greet the child as light to the revelation of the and redemption of and warn Mary of sorrow to come. However, the day is marked theologically, it meant the end of secular festivities. If you happened to be one of Queen favorites, she would visit your estate for the ex- tended holidays, something that could bankrupt her host. She came with her full court from kitchen help to courtiers and guards.

In those days, there was no tree involved in English Christ- mas observances. Queen Victo- consort Prince Albert was responsible for introducing it. When the handsome German nobleman married Great Brit- young queen, he brought the customs of his native land to the English court. His most impressive innovation was the Christmas tree. Britons were captivated by the royal pair (some things never change) and quickly followed their example.

German immigrants brought the tree with them to this country, but kept them in their homes at first. The tree moved into public spaces when many of these newcomers clustered in Pennsylvania towns. Most Americans, inheriting Puritan scruples, considered putting up a tree a pagan ritual and were scandalized. The first decorated Christ- mas tree to make it into a U.S. church was set up in 1851 by Rev.

Heinrich Schwan, pastor of Zion Lutheran of Cleveland, Ohio. It took a while to get pi- ous congregations to accept the symbol, but within a few de- cades, Christmas trees became an accepted presence in church and home. Franklin Pierce was the first president to install a Christmas tree in the White House. As electric lights began to replace lighted candles on the tree, Calvin Coolidge established the National Tree Lighting tradi- tion on the White House lawn in 1923. A committed traditionalist, I have happily carried the custom into my home, finally investing in a huge artificial tree and all the ornamentation it can hold.

Whether I will be in the com- pany of family, friends, or alone, I bring it up from the basement every year and set it alight There is a second, more per- sonal reason for keeping it so long. Bernadette, who suffered for many years from severe os- teoporosis, fell and broke two bones in December 2010, before the tree was assembled. After an operation, she went into re- hab and, after appearing to be making another recovery, went into decline and died away from home, during a blizzard on Feb 2, 2011: Candlemas. She never got to see the tree that season. Since then, Feb.

2 seems an appropriate day for the lights to go out. The third reason is probably more honest. an artificial tree that has to be assembled branch by branch, a task that takes considerable time and ef- fort to get up and in place, then lit and ornamented. Taking it apart, packing all its parts, and hauling containers to the base- ment is a much longer and more arduous task, one I have had to pass on to helpful friends. In recent years, I have been tempted to leave it in storage.

Christmas has become a quiet time, one I spend with my next-door son. My other chil- dren are scattered across the country, from Alaska to Florida, and each has a home and circle of family and friends to enter- tain. Yet, that tree has seen a lot over the years; it represents so much of the distant and recent past that it deserves to have its place in the living-room. I see in its glow so many faces and events worth remembering and re-living that I am tempted to keep it in place permanently. But 40 days will do.

don Wooten is a former Illinois state senator and a regular columnist. Email him at: Reasons to keep tree up until Feb. 2 DON WOOTEN There are some who find amus- ing the chaos that Congressional Republicans are currently expe- riencing. That is way out of line. There is nothing at all amusing about it.

Instead, it is a huge mess a disaster that will be devas- tating not just for the Republican Party but for the entire nation. Sketched in somewhat general terms, the ideal political config- uration in a democracy such as ours is two major political parties that are approx- imately equal in power one a center-left party, the other a cen- ter-right party. In a well-ordered society, this pro- vides checks and balances against ill-considered policies advocated by extremists, be it the hard right in the case of the center-right party or the radical left in the case of the center-left party. We all have blind spots. We all have a tendency to see what we want to see.

For this reason, single party rule is not a good thing. It can very easily result in excesses and policies that are ill-advised. If members of both parties are willing to reach across the aisle and work together to craft prac- tical legislation that addresses the problems our nation faces, the result is almost always better legislation than is enacted when one party calls all the shots. Not necessarily perfect legislation no such thing but legislation that constructively addresses the problems we face. The recent infrastructure bill is an example of this.

We often forget that there is such a thing as collective wis- dom. Isaiah 1:18 states, now, let us reason When folks from different per- spectives and different back- grounds get their heads together and engage in open-minded discussions, the result is almost always greater than the sum of the individual parts. Back to the present situation. As all those who have been fol- lowing events in our capital know, as a result of the 2022 election, membership in both houses of Congress is nearly equal, with Democrats having a paper thin majority in the U.S. Senate while Republicans have a paper thin majority in the U.S.

House of Representatives. Does this mean that there is a balance of power with appro- priate checks and balances? Not necessarily, particularly in the case of the House of Represen- tatives. The Senate comes closer to approximating a balance of power. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is not without his flaws, as no one is, has been a key factor in the passage of bi- partisan legislation such as the infrastructure bill, legislation strongly supported by President Joe Biden, a Democrat who be- lieves in reaching across the aisle whenever possible, seeking bi- partisan approaches to the prob- lems facing us. The current House of Rep- resentatives is a different story.

Kevin McCarthy, a shallow person who for years has lusted after the gavel of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, gave away the farm to get what he wanted, even though it took 15 rounds of voting before he got the votes necessary to put the gavel in his hands. The winners? MAGA Republi- cans and others on the hard right fueled by anger and animosity directed toward those who dis- agree with them, regardless of party affiliation. Flamethrowers who are more focused on attack- ing others and the institutions of government than they are on finding practical solutions to the problems facing us. Flame- throwers who are more interested in gaining publicity, which re- sults in invitations to appear on Fox News talk shows, than they are in dealing with the messy business of governing.

The losers? All of us who ex- pect more of our elected officials. There are some who question whether MAGA Republicans are capable of governing. The prior question is whether they are interested in governing. It is not apparent that they are. For many, being on Fox News seems to be more important than doing the behind-the-scenes work that is absolutely essential for effective governance.

It is much easier to attack oth- ers and tear things down than it is to repair deteriorating bridges and build things up. Anyone can do the former. It takes people willing to reach across the aisle and work together if the latter is to happen. How this all sorts out remains to be seen. At this point in time, however, it is cause for grave concern.

dan Lee, a regular columnist, is the Marian Taft Cannon Professor in the Humanities at augustana; augustana.edu. We deserve more than what we saw in House DAN LEE Pass a right-to- repair bill for farm equipment Open letter to Senators Durbin, Duckworth, Ernst, Grassley, and the congres- sional delegation of Iowa and Illinois. Do the one thing that will unequivocally help the farm- ers and small businesses of Iowa: author and support a right-to-repair bill that would require vendors like Deere to offer to farmers and local farm equipment service providers the tools and in- formation needed to repair the expensive equipment that they own and lease. Since farming began, farmers have built, repaired, and managed all the tools they used. Until now.

The current memo of un- derstanding signed by John Deere does not go far enough. Deere rightly understands that it will not be the farmer who repairs the combines and harvesters that break down. Repairs need to be done to minimize equipment downtime. Fast repairs could be done by tech-savvy ser- vice providers who will start new small businesses in rural communities to provide this service. A full right-to-Re- pair bill would allow these small service providers to own or lease the tools and software needed to repair this equipment and require ven- dors like Deere to sell directly to them.

A right-to-repair bill could bring tech-savvy workers to rural areas and help keep tech-savvy kids in small towns. Stop fighting divisive cul- ture wars and fight for some- thing that will help those who voted for you and those you represent. Leslie Dow, PhD East Moline Reject ill-conceived plan for alternative dwelling units At a December Public Hearing attended by many concerned Moline residents, the sensible members of Plan Com- mission voted against an native Dwelling ordinance backed by the mayor and several Aldermen. The main objection is that if passed, this ordinance will allow your neighbors to build in their back or side yard and rent them out to anyone. No longer will your single-family neighborhood be a single-family neighborhood.

This what homeowners had in mind when they bought a home in Moline. Of course, every city needs multi-unit rental housing. But it should be placed in multi-family zones. why zoning laws exist to establish different ap- propriate land uses to preserve the quality of life and value of property. as concerning as the ordinance itself is the lack of transparency and the confus- ing path the ordinance has taken.

The plan commission made sound recommendations to city council, including that ADUs be limited to use by family mem- bers. Despite this, some coun- cil members directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance ignoring the recommendations. Only when plan commission members complained about the lack of transparency did the city conduct minimal outreach, and the information provided about the ordinance has been neither complete nor accurate. The council will vote on the ordinance on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

If you want to preserve the character and quality of your neighborhood, tell the mayor and your alderman to reject this ill-conceived ordinance. Jodi Fisk Moline LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.