Merry Xmas

Conservatives Take on Christmas Cause

The moral values spin on the election--debunked by most about a week after it gained currency--is back with a twist. Citing the results of the election as proof that Americans are fed up with political correctness (by which they mean efforts to use language that does not exclude people unnecessarily from public life), conservatives nationwide are pushing to reverse the trend of attempting to be inclusive of all Americans. They're offended by the fact that companies and municipalities are displaying signs that say "Season's Greetings" rather than "Merry Christmas," holding a "Holiday Party" or "End of the Year Celebration" rather than a "Christmas Party," and generally recognizing that this time of year means different things to different people. They'll have their nativities in the public square with a side order of you can keep your damned dreidel or your silly belief in the human spirit, thank you very much.

Isn't this a bit much? Your big days are federal holidays; your kids are automatically out of school and you're automatically home from work. Unless they're in private schools, Jews and Muslims don't get the same treatment for their major holidays. Can't you win gracefully? Yes, you're the majority in this country; there are more folks in the United States who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday than those who acknowledge it as a time of good cheer regardless of faith or creed. But those of us on the outside have already, in the words of the Mormons who once stopped me on a busy street to perform their missionary duty, "heard the Good News about Christ." If you must continue to try to convince us to believe what you believe, that's fine--but can't we all agree that a sign on city hall isn't the most effective vehicle for doing so? An agnostic doesn't drive by a "Merry Christmas" sign and think, "You know, I should really get in on that whole Christianity thing." More likely, he thinks, "Oh, I should send out my holiday cards." And isn't that enough for you people? We all celebrate the birth of your savior; some of us do so while going out of our way to buy non-religious cards, non-religious gift wrap, and non-religious stamps, then put up a creche for camp value, but how does that hurt you?

So, for my part, I say enough is enough. You've got your federal holiday, the gifting tradition centered around your big day is such an important part of the economy that sales data requires seasonal adjustment, and everyone knows that the biggest reason we have sayings like "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" is to celebrate a holiday that originated with your religion. If you want to send cards with chapter and verse quoted within them, display signs that say "Jesus is the Reason for the Season," run about in the cold singing songs about your dear savior's birth, and whine about taking Christ out of Christmas, go right ahead. But if you want to start down the long and terrible road to a theocracy, go do it somewhere else. America was founded as a land of religious freedom, not religion imposed.

Happy Holidays!