Bah, Humbug!
It appears that we have become so politically correct (PC) that we are beginning to let the few dictate the way the majority of Americans can now celebrate their holidays. For example, why is it that many individuals and businesses are opting to advertise sales or send Christmas greeting cards or invitations that no longer refer to Christmas, labeling such occasions instead as “Holiday” greetings, parties or sales?
Bah, Humbug! I say, “Keep your cotton-pickin’ hands off my Christmas!”
Those who know I don’t celebrate Christmas (for personal reasons) may think this is a strange reaction. I’m not a Christian, but I do care about our American traditions. And, one of the most revered in our society has always been CHRISTMAS. I also don’t believe it’s necessary to be a Christian to appreciate and support Christian values, which are an integral part of the foundation on which America was built.
Why on earth are we letting people who are anti-religion, such as atheists and the ACLU, dictate or attempt to dictate what our national values should be? That’s what they are, aren’t they? That is, people who are anti-religion? And, who made them the politically-correct police, anyway?
Even as a non-Christian, Christmas has always been a part of my life. I grew up during the depression, and I can still remember the importance of the Christmas season at a time when most people had very little. And, I can’t say that growing up and living in a Christian society has ever been a significant obstacle for me. As a Jew, I suppose I’ve experienced my share of prejudice along the way, but I don’t believe the fact that I’m not a Christian has ever prevented me from taking advantage of the boundless opportunities that America has made and continues to make available, regardless of our individual religious beliefs.
So why, I wonder, is Christmas such a problem for non-believers? What’s their game? Are they just perverse, or is there some larger purpose underlying their opposition to any recognition of religion in the life of our society, even Christmas?
Question: Is it possible to avoid offending anyone by discontinuing all references to Christmas in favor of “Holiday”?
I think not! I, for one, even as a non-Christian, am offended by this effort to take Christmas out of the Christmas celebration. My guess is that for every person who is placated by references to the “Holiday” in lieu of “Christmas,” there is at least one person like me, who is troubled or offended by the obvious ploy of omitting any reference to Christmas in favor of “Holiday.”
Perhaps Ben Stein said it best when he recently commented, “I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.”
The very firms that succumb to the PC version of the “Holiday” may well find that many of their customers will eventually see the situation as I do and take their business elsewhere - to a store or firm that acknowledges that Christmas is Christmas, Christ included.
So, to you and yours, I say, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Taking God Out of Everything
Led by the ACLU, America’s culture war is being driven from the “left,” which is attempting to remove God from almost every aspect of our national life, from our currency to Christmas, including any mention of God or display of Christian belief, such as crèches, in our schools, courts, municipal buildings and on public property, even “Seasons Greetings” in stores, literally just about everywhere and anywhere in American society.
Their argument is predicated on the notion that it is offensive to people who do not believe in GOD, no matter how few or how many complainants there are. Sometimes “people” means only one person, who may object to what they perceive as religious indoctrination where none exists.
For the record, I am not a Christian and I do not attend any church, and I cannot recall a single instance in my life (of 79 years) when I was offended or harmed in any way by public expressions of Christian religious belief or simply an acknowledgement of God.
I have never had any problem maintaining a moment of silence when prayers are said in my presence. I recall that prayer was always an integral part of graduation exercises and various assemblies when I was in high school during the 1940s. Never, even for a fleeting instant, did I have a sense that I was being proselytized or criticized for my own beliefs at the time, and I still feel the same way. Today, whenever I attend a gathering where prayers are offered, such as a memorial service or a meeting of some group, I have no problem accepting prayers as the honest expression of the beliefs of others by joining them in a moment of silence during the observance of their faith.
What’s the big deal? Have we now reached the point where anti-religious expression has become the very thing that the opponents of religion claim they are trying to prevent – that is, forcing or pressuring people to believe as they do, which in this instance is not believing in anything. So, from the fear of pressuring people to accept religion, have we now moved to the strange position of trying to pressure or force them to believe in nothing?
In the opinion of at least this one non-Christian, the entire effort to remove all expressions of religious belief from the public square is just another form of prejudice. I say, “Get a life.” This is more than just political correctness run amuck. It is utter nonsense, pure B.S.
The question is, “Why do we tolerate it?” Fifty or 60 years ago, such complaints would have been rejected out of hand. And, attempts by non-believers to force others to accept their ideas and to prevent the overwhelming majority of the population from publicly expressing their values or recognizing them in our institutions would not have been tolerated. Not only would they have been tuned out, they would have been shut down by both the general population and the courts. Today, around 85% of Americans believe in God, yet they are strangely unable or unwilling to stand up to the vocal minority that is trying to undermine the very beliefs and values of the overwhelming majority.
For example, how is it possible to remove “Christmas” from the Christmas Holiday (vacation) in the schools? The idea that it should renamed “Winter Break” to avoid offending even a single person defies all logic. Were it not for Christmas, there would be no Christmas vacation, and therefore there would be no Winter Break.
As for the courts, the underlying foundation of our laws is the Ten Commandments, which cannot be removed from our courts and all public life without undermining our entire judicial system. One does not have to be a Christian to know that without the presence of any religious values and the teaching of right and wrong in our schools, we have substantially abandoned our young people to the lure of license without responsibility. We could do a lot worse than introducing a little active involvement of God back into our classrooms, even for those of us who are not Christians.
Many of those parents who disagree with the current policies of liberal indoctrination that pervade our schools today feel they are being forced to home school their children in order to instill the values they consider important. But, perhaps they should be standing up to educators and school boards and putting the vocal minority in the position of having to home school their own children instead. A little poetic justice might go a long way to help heal the rift that is currently being caused by the minority constantly attacking the majority’s beliefs and values.
The proliferation of ethics courses currently being required by the professions, such as accounting and law, gives testimony to the fact that too many of our young people are now reaching their majority without the moral foundation that schools helped teach in the past, which was historically based on religious values. I’ll take the teachings of education with God involved rather than the lack of ethics and morality that pervade our schools today without God, notwithstanding the fact that I am not a Christian.
There are those who argue that even the slightest amount of religious expression in the schools is tantamount to opening the door to religious indoctrination and persecution of those who don’t agree with the values of the majority. Can it be that, all of a sudden, Christian and Judeo values have become a threat to the rest