First of all, I never said anything about the Crusades, nor did I say that Christians shouldn't be allowed to express their religious views, nor did I say that well-meaning Christians are hate mongers. You all did a very good job of drawing incorrect conclusions from things that I didn't say. My point was that Christians as a whole are not being persecuted. If they were being persecuted then the government would be tearing down decorations from private properties and shutting down churches. Being forced to remove religious icons from public property is simply not the same thing. I personally love Christmas and enjoy seeing the decorations, trees, Santa, and all those things. In fact, it does make me a little sad when well-meaning Christians are forced to take them down. However, I don't agree with the sentiment here that everyone is "out to get the Christians" by taking these things off of public property. Freedom of religion in this country is also freedom from the religion of others. Like it or not, it's the way it has become. If you don't like it, and want to see it changed, then more power to you. But you should get out and become politically active, because complaining about it on an online forum will do nothing.