November 1, 2006 11:38AM 

# Peace with Paganism 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

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The street I live on in Northern Virginia is like the United Nations. My neighbors are from Vietnam, Russia, Iran, El Salvador, Hungary, Morocco, and Virginia. And thus perhaps a mix of Christians, Muslims, Buddists, and atheists. My wife is Jewish.

Last night, as we went trick-or-treating with our kids, we noticed that every house was participating in the [Halloween](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween) rituals of costumes, decorations, and candy hand-outs.

It was peace, harmony, and smiles all around—there were no politicians present, and thus no one to sour the mood or tell anyone what to think. I guess it wasn’t like the UN at all.

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