The school district should have resisted the blandishments of a bigoted parent, even if the individual is a large donor. The poor national publicity and backlash from this incident may cost the district far more in terms of reputation than the value of a cash gift.

We're in America, not India.

America is truly a melting pot of cultures, ethnicity and religions and having a winter program that reflects this diversity is imperative to the cultural education of our youngsters. Greendale has been a highly homogenized community for generations and I am profoundly happy to see it becoming so beautifully diverse! Learning about and respecting the cultures and religions of our neighbors is very to our personal growth. Rejecting the culture, rich ethnic heritage and religions of others without introducing yourself to it, learning about it from your own neighbors is cutting yourself off from embracing the rich beauty of life on our planet. Rejecting this song out of hand was bigoted and I hope this decision will be reconsidered some time in the future, but Greendale schools embracing diversity and having an event which more closely represents the heritage of ALL of its' students.....I have witnessed the marginalization first hand and hope others will speak out as well....

How often do parents of Asian, Indian or any non Caucasian descent pull their children out of these concerts during performances of "Away in a Manger" or "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"? By the way....the following songs were written by Jewish composers "The Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting on an open fire)" ~Mel Torme, "White Christmas" ~Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline), "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" ~Johnny Marks (he also wrote "Holly Jolly Christmas"), and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" ~Walter Kent....should these songs be omitted from the repertoire of Greendale School concerts because the composer was not of Christian upbringing?

I'm a bit confused as to Conservative in Greendale's opinion on what is classically american. This is a pretty lame extreme, but are we thinking Native American? How about the slaves that were the backbone of american economic expansion? Or the Polish, Jewish, and German immigrants that 1 in every 5 americans is a descendant of? "Communist grade school" shows that you're a typical thick-headed conservative that spews out typical vitriol. Can you actively demonstrate how this is "communist"? Have you actually read Marx or do you just parrot what others tell you?

@Rupi Sohi - To clarify "Conservative in Greendale's" opinion....classically american means christian. :)

PART 1

Here are some facts concerning what occurred leading up to the School District’s decision to remove the song “Ragupati Ragava Raja Ram”. We’ve highlighted the emails we sent concerning the song.

Sent December 5--
Hi! After hearing Eric singing his solo part in the song "Ragupati Ragava Raja Ram" around the house, I asked him if he knew what the words he was singing meant. He didn't, so I asked him if he could bring home the practice sheet so we could take a look at it. We googled it earlier tonight and discovered quite a few different translations for it. Our concern is that all the translations included words that were worshipping Hindu gods. This was very upsetting to Eric to discover that he has been singing praise to gods other than the one true God he believes in, and he doesn't want to sing his part or the song. In the future we would hope that the translations of songs sung in foreign languages be written out so students and parents are aware of what the kids are singing in music class. In the present, we think that the fifth grade parents should be made aware of the words in this song before the Christmas Concert. Sincerely, Dick and Beth Neustifter

Sent December 6--
We don't want Eric on the risers during the singing of the "Ragupati. . . ." song, or practicing the song in class. Thank you. Dick and Beth Neustifter

PART 2

Many Children, parents and staff had no idea what the lyrics to this song actually meant. It was our goal to have the lyrics printed for everyone to understand. Please take time to google the lyrics if you haven’t already.
We know that everyone has their own religious beliefs and it was not our intent to have the song pulled, but we are glad it was. We know it’s important to learn about other cultures and religions, but learning about other religions and their gods is much different that the praising of false gods even if done unknowingly.
The first of the Ten Commandments God gave Moses says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” In the Bible God says He loved us so much that “He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Sincerely, Dick and Beth Neustifter

"We know it’s important to learn about other cultures and religions, but learning about other religions and their gods is much different that the praising of false gods even if done unknowingly. "

Oh good! You've finally discovered the ONE true god! Seeing as people have been fighting over this topic for...oh...6,000+ years now, I'm delighted to hear that you've finally figured it out and we can all put this mess behind us. I'll pose this question once again; how many Hindi/Chinese/Muslim/(insert non-anglo belief here) parents have pulled their child from a performance of this song...

"Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!"

Every Christmas we're inundated in shopping malls, television and holiday concerts with songs like these...and every Christmas non-white parents/students/(people in general) don't make a fuss about "subjecting" their children or themselves to it the way the conservative right does. Christmas has become more than just the birth of Jesus - it's about the coming together of people and families. The fact that people such as yourselves are unwilling to accept this shows how truly pathetic...and sad...you really are. "God bless us, everyone." ~Charlie Brown