Sometimes following your conscience pays off. Last November, the Asheville Merchants Association asked the City of Asheville to take over sponsorship of the December Holiday Parade. During deliberations, Councilman Jan Davis raised concerns about partial nudity and profanity in a recent parade. He confirmed that the City of Asheville is bound by certain First Amendment rulings to be unable to limit such freedoms of expression. Master of words Dr. Carl Mumpower then referred to the art forms Davis had mentioned as a “corruption†of the Christmas Parade.
“Corruption! What do you mean corrupted. I take exception!” exclaimed an out of order Tom Hallmark, President of the AMA, from the audience. The hurt feelings did not stop with that. Published with the staff reports for next week’s city council meeting is a letter dated December 4, in which the AMA states it is renouncing oversight for the parade, and withdrawing its offer to provide the city with $20,000 in each of the next four years for taking over the parade, but will be willing to cooperate with any entity besides the City of Asheville interested in taking over the responsibilities.
And thus we see that a declaration of a fact as simple as the observation that a half-naked, potty-mouthed elf has nothing to do with one of the most sacred events in history, has likely spared taxpayers from supporting a ridiculous role of government.
Hallelujah!
