The War on Christmas...not!!

There seems to be a major push by the talking heads on the Fox News Network and certain conservative fundamentalist Christian leaders to convince the country that there is a concerted effort by the hated liberals and ACLU to eliminate Christmas from the nation's vocabulary. First of all, this is total bullshit since the practice of giving gifts at this time of year drives about 35% of our economy. Second, I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that our Constitution prohibits the establishment of a state supported religion/church. We are a pluralist society in that our significant numbers or our fellow citizens practice almost every religious faith extant in the world today other than Christianity. Sure, the majority of us still claim to be at least nominal Christians, but it is not the same as it was 100 years ago.

Way back when, there were only two major religions represented in any numbers in this country: Judaism and Christianity. All other religious faiths were either confined to ethnic ghettos (like Chinatowns) or had so few adherents as to be effectively invisible. Therefore, it was not inappropriate for towns to set up Christmas decorations. After all, most of the tax money which supported those displays came from those same nominal Christians. However, today a significant percentage of those taxes now comes from people who do not have the same attachment to Christmas. It is time, therefore, to let the public sector put up non-sectarian Winter Holiday decorations, and to let the churches and private citizens exercise their rights by setting up Christmas displays on church grounds and other private properties.

We all know that businesses, especially retail businesses that are owned or run by non-Christians, will always support this major holiday in December. After all, the few weeks between Thanksgiving and December 25th traditionally comprises about 35% of most major retailers' annual revenue. In the past, non-Christian retailers happily promoted the season since it was in their economic interest to do so. And that has not changed. Muslims, Hindus, Jews and followers of a host of other religions are happy to take Christian's money...and they are equally happy to encourage others to find reasons to exchange gifts as well.

So, no, there is no "War on Christmas". There is only a pluralist society trying to find a way for all its members to enjoy the beginning of winter. If you want to insist upon wishing a turbaned Sikh or an obviously Hassidic Jew "Merry Christmas", then it is your right to show your boorishness and general lack of sensitivity. OTOH, if you say it with warmth and a genuine desire to say something nice to people, as opposed to a militant "in your face" delivery, I think "Merry Christmas" is appropriate in the same way "shalom" or (I think this is correct) "salam" is coming from members of those cultures/religions.

So, to all I send wishes for a Merry Christmas meaning may the beginning of winter be filled with friends, family and Peace on Earth, goodwill towards all mankind.