’Tis the Season to Be Politically Correct
Yes, I know it’s old news now. Frosty the Snowman nixed as a white “male icon” that helps “to substantiate an ideology upholding a gendered spatial/social system.” NPR’s Nina Totenberg apologizing for uttering the word “Christmas” (think of all she had to apologize for and she picks Christmas!). The preposterous, pre-fabricated holiday of “Kwanzaa.” The greeting “Merry Christmas” banned at sundry companies and municipalities throughout the domain formerly known as Christendom. All in a day’s work for those wishing to target Christianity in the name of political correctness.
And yet we must not let familiarity inure us to preposterousness. Nor should we make the common mistake of assuming that because something is preposterous it is not therefore seriously harmful. It is sometimes difficult to get our minds around that fact that something can be both preposterous and malevolent. And yet history is full of examples, from Nero and Caligula on down. How silly they seemed — until, of course, their silliness turned toxic.
With that in mind, I offer the following exchange of emails to readers. It was sent to me by one of the parties to the exchange, a doctor who has suffered through the increasingly intolerant and politically correct atmosphere of a large Midwestern medical practice. Our story opens with a seemingly innocuous invitation to a “holiday party” a couple of days ago:
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 11:56 AM
To: MED STF ALL
Subject: REMINDER: LUNCH in the Lounge!You’re invited to celebrate the season at the Med Staff HOLIDAY LUNCH!
When: TOMORROW! Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Time: 11:30am – 1:30pm
Where: Physician Lounge
Ho, ho, ho, right? But my friend thought he would ask the obvious question.
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 8:43 AM
Subject: RE: REMINDER: LUNCH in the Lounge!I have a question. What holiday is it that you are celebrating? Could it be Christmas?
Heaven forfend! Anything but Christ-mas! But here is the response, res ipsa loquitur:
Hello ——:
We don’t celebrate one specific holiday. We honor all holidays celebrated by the members of the medical staff with this one non-specific holiday lunch. I hope you can join us.
And here is the response:
Interesting. So this is the only holiday lunch you have all year. Then why have it 4 days from Christmas. What other holiday is there this time of year?
Uh-oh:
I just tried ringing you, but got your assistant’s voicemail. I would be happy to talk via phone with you about our robust physician event schedule. Do call when you get a chance.
Also, since we are talking, we noticed you do not have a professional photo up on our website. I invite you to have that taken during our monthly photo sessions in the Physician Lounge. The next one is taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, December 22 from 7:15 – 8:15am. If you are unable to attend, I will alert you to the next session in January.
Have a wonderful day!
But that’s the essence of it Roger. The left hates mainstream American culture and values. After all, it is intrinsically antagonistic to collectivism and rule by our “betters.” That’s why they want to smash it and rub it out.
I am reminded of the story of an Englishman around 1900 who went to a ranch in Montana. He asked one of the ranch hands “where can I find your master?” to which he received the reply “that SOB hasn’t ever been born.”
Its hard to keep people with attitudes like that in the commune.
I agree the far left hate America – they pretty much hate everything. But the near left? It seems to me they are afflicted with niceness and cannot believe, anymore than we once did, that a simple decision to be “inclusive” can destroy a civilization. This talk of hating just makes them try harder to be nicer. Who knows, maybe we’ll come around! Childishly, they find it impossible to imagine that the safe, plentiful life they lead rests on the values of an homogeneous culture and worldview that tolerates different cultures but does not preference them. When dealing with argumentative children it never pays to argue back. Better to just insist on what one wants – thus, “I want the word Christmas included in the planning, the events and the communications.” Repeat word for word until the message sinks in.
The near left are the “useful idiots” that Vladimir Lenin talked about.
The Right and the Left hate America and Americans.
Yet you spend so much energy telling us what to do and not do.
Here’s a thought…
It’s none of your business what we celebrate, where, when and/or why
Merry Christmas
for my own Damn reasons..
and none of yours
:: ))
Merry Christmas from the Midwest, Roger.
Some of the people around this university town still say “Merry Christmas,” but on one of the local radio stations, the announcers wish everyone a “Happy New Year,” skipping Christmas as if it doesn’t exist.
At Thanksgiving the chancellor sent everyone a e-mail message about giving thanks. She did not mention to whom one was to give thanks.
Christmas is the most obnoxious holiday ever. It’s absolutely everywhere, and that’s why I can’t stand it. The same jingle 50 million times on TV, the decorations in every single store, with special clothing for the attendants, gigantic “holiday” celebrations in the town square. It’s so in your face that you MUST be a part of it, just leave me alone. You literally cannot escape it without leaving the country.
Comparatively, I have no problem with Easter. You get some small tasteful decorations in the candy aisle of the store, and that’s usually it.
The only thing that annoys me about the PC attitude is that they’re still openly celebrating Christmas all over the place, but try to cover it up and act as if Santa or his style of dress somehow is inter-religious. If I celebrate Hanuka or whatever, I know very well what you’re dressing as. You might as well say Merry Christmas, I know that’s what you mean. They must think people of other religions are stupid to not understand what’s going on.
Point the First: If you’re going to reference a holiday, please spell it correctly.
It’s spelled “Hanukkah.”
Point the Second:
The following was posted on The Volokh Conspiracy regarding “Merry Christmas” and Jewish “sensibilities.”
Worth considering.
Before anyone assumes or asks, no, I am not Jewish. I happen to be a Christian who has stood behind the pulpit many times. I just have a great affection for the Jewish people on account of an old family friend (now gone from this world) who taught me a lot about their traditions… even if his favorite meal was pork chops.
Point the Third – The word Channukah begins in Hebrew with the letter ‘chet’, which is that throat clearing sound that doesn’t translate directly to English. You can spell it half a dozen ways, but include the ‘C’, it IS necessary. It ISN’T Hannukah.
Tell that to these folks.
I can assure you, I know the correct way of spelling the aforementioned holiday: חנוכה (assuming non-ascii characters are permitted).
That aside, there is no technically correct way of spelling Chanukah because Hanukah is not an English word, nor has Hannuka been ingrained into the English language far enough to have a set spelling, so you can spell Chanuka however you please.
As mentioned, I really have the most problem with the over commercialization with Christmas and it’s over penetration into society beyond what is reasonable, not with people saying Happy holidays or even Merry Christmas. The general assumption that everything Christmas related permeates all culture in America and by calling it a holiday celebration (with holiday tree and holiday mistletoe) that it is somehow now “neutral” with respect to religions is what is ridiculous.
Issues like this are a little bit difficult to discuss in forums, because their very deliberations make it look so formal and confrontational, hence flame wars. So I wanna be clear that all this meant to be coffee chat style, not bickering.
I teach both English and history, and have been much struck professionally by examinations of the interesting nature of linguistics. There are so many avenues to pursue. The one in question here is both social and phonetic. Phonetically, the major problem is the proper rendering into one language (in this case, English) sounds that the other language has but the second does not. The sound of the Hebrew phoneme ‘CHET’ does not translate. Hence, it is either ignored or overdone. Socially, this leads to (often acrimonious) debate over spelling in the new language.
This IS actually a bigger problem than it appears. It can lead to a lot of low level ignorance, and clumsy attempts at correction. For example, the incorrect rendering from Mandarin to English of “Mao Tse Tung.” Recently, scholars had to fight quite an uphill battle to get the general public to accept the new and more faithful spelling of “Mao Zedeong.” An interesting side note here is the property of classical Chinese dialects to alter place name pronunciations in the aftermath of various political and cultural changes. A colleague of mine who teaches Chinese once explained at length to me that the capitol city of Beijing WAS actually pronounced Peking for some hundreds of years, but internal change (reflected in aspects of Chinese culture and linguistics that I cannot hope to understand, let alone explain here) caused the name to be changed to the now more commonly known Beijing. Cool, huh? Further, consider the near total lack of agreement on how to spell Libyan dictator ‘Moammar Khadafy’ (THAT spelling is how Microsoft WORD thinks it is spelled).
Back to the ‘Chanukah’ debate, with all of its interesting little aspects. Official organizations (the MLA, APA, etc.) that have no authority but academic standing and the need to establish SOME kind of standard will hand down rulings on the spelling of such words. Councils of linguistic professors will sit in conclave and hope to find choices that (in their minds) make the most sense. The trap here is that the rest of us are often suckered into accepting that these decisions are somehow ironclad RULES and not mere conventions of considered convenience. The throat-clearing sound of the Hebrew ‘CHET’ is sometimes rendered into English by use of the ‘H’ with a dot over it, or more commonly by using the ‘CH’ option. Both of these options sort of fail, in that nobody really knows what the dotted-H means, and the ‘CH’ can lead to mispronunciations as in the words choice, choose, and cherry.
Well, in this specific case, the various authorities have correctly noted that the closest possible Hebrew-to-English transliteration is to use the ‘CH’ spelling. The word in Hebrew characters does not begin with the Hebrew ‘HAY’ (our English H) symbol, but rather with ‘CHET’. The general lessons to be taken away from this, as I teach it to MY students, are:
1 – Don’t put absolute trust in so-called authorities, and recognize ground for legitimate disagreement.
2 – Small things can lead to big problems.
3 – The inherently limited and flawed nature of written communication makes certain problems inevitable. That is why mastering the nuances of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics is actually so vitally important. In fact, this very mini-essay that I have written here includes an hour’s worth of editing to make sure that every symbol and word choice conveyed exactly what I wanted it to (particularly in my selection of modifying adverbs and adjectives), and there will doubtless still be people whose internal connotations will take away that which is different from the implied denotations. Plus, WORD keeps telling me not to use the Passive Voice. Stupid Microsoft.
English is fun, ain’t it?
In respectful reply to my learned new friend Rambam:
“…this very mini-essay that I have written here…”
Would this be the same as “…this small essay of mine…” or even “…my small essay here…?
But never, I wot, “…this here small essay I done writ richere…”
But I ain’t so hot. I can neither do nor teach.
Fun to a fault, Rambam! And in hopes that pedantry loves company, I’ll observe that “Mao Tse-Tung” faithfully observes the old transliteration system that preceded the late-20th century Pinyin method. Back when Mao first became a household name, “Mao Tse-Tung” was the approved transliteration; he only became “Mao Zedong” later in life.
I’ll also observe that the older Chinese spelling actually results in a more ACCURATE pronunciation: the modern Pinyin system is consistent, but horribly impractical for English, using letters like “q,” “c,” “z,” and “x” in ways that give an Anglophone no idea whatsoever how to pronounce the sounds they represent. Fie on such Commie innovations! (There’s a certain transgressive thrill to saying/writing “Peking,” no?)
And for my part, I spell it “Hanukkah”: the “ch” risks being misunderstood as the sound that begins “cheese.” And since the letter cheth used to be pronounced much like the “h” in Arabic “Muhammad,” I figure the spelling is defensible.
You’re not talking about Christmas, libturd, but about the commericalisation of the holiday to the point where it’s no longer recognisable from what it’s really about.
Thanks for the Ad Hominim. I didn’t know I had to be liberal to dislike the commercialization of Christmas, which is equivalent with Christmas at this point. The commercialization of other holidays doesn’t come anywhere near to being as annoying as Christmas. Maybe Halloween.
Christmas is the most obnoxious holiday ever. It’s absolutely everywhere, and that’s why I can’t stand it.
If you think Christmas is obnoxious, try the celebration of ‘Diversity’. It too is absolutely everywhere, but it runs 24/7/365, and in addition to killing Christmas it is devoted to driving Christianity entirely from public spaces and gatherings, while fawning and forcing public attention onto all and every other system of belief.
‘Diversity’ also strives to displace mainstream, democratic American culture and persons from positions of authority in the institutions that they themselves created, and to replace them with any other sort of resentful being who will reliably confuse, divert and oppose the institutional purposes, singing hymns written in leftist cant of ‘fairness’ and ‘tolerance’ – but employing spiteful and intolerant authoritarian and pseudo-legal methods of imposing those goals.
And some folks snivel about Christmas being intolerable!
Bravo! Insensitive Basterd!
To defend our culture, we must know the answers to a handful of questions:
1. What aspects of our culture require defending?
2. From whom are we defending them?
3. What sort of defense is likely to be effective?
As I’ve been saying a lot lately, it’s not enough to know what you’re against; you must also know what you’re for. A culture, broadly speaking, contains both “for” and “against” elements. When an attack on a culture begins, it’s likely that a group of the “for” elements will be targeted first: specifically, the ones with which we associate the concept of “cultural identity.”
In the case of the United States of America, those elements are:
– Christianity and its traditions;
– Freedom of expression, regardless of who might be “offended;”
– The right to choose one’s own associates in any context, without regard for the opinions of others;
– The rightness of capitalism, private property, and the pursuit of prosperity;
– Our preference for military might over military impotence.
There are others, of course — I’m not quite sure how to categorize the irritation so many of us feel over having to “press 1 for English” — but the above appear to me to be the principal targets of our cultural enemies.
Now, who are those enemies, and what weapons do they possess? They’re almost always on the political Left, and the principal tool by which they make their gains is our susceptibility to undeserved guilt. This is an essentially verbal assault; it requires the mangling of words with powerful connotations and the concealment of the implications of the speaker. Accordingly, a sufficient degree of confidence and an unwillingness to be silenced will always carry the day — yet these attributes are less and less manifest in contemporary American society.
The best defense, it’s said, is a smashing offense. It’s particularly powerful when one’s counterattack employs the enemy’s own weapons. Thus, if we can marshal our cultural confidence — that is, become willing once more to state our preferences with confidence, in the face of castigation — we can proceed from there to assaulting the enemy’s implied preferences on their (de)merits:
– They assault Christianity? Give them hell about Islamic, tribal, and pagan brutalities.
– They demand that you be more “sensitive” about your opinions or your choice of words? Remind them that words merely function as symbols for objects and actions, and that their actions, in attempting to impose their preferred opinions and lexicon upon you, are more offensive than you’re willing to tolerate.
– They assail you for “discrimination?” Lance them with their willingness to defend the scum of the Earth, as if they had no ability to discriminate between right and wrong, or beauty and ugliness.
– They hate capitalism because it produces “inequality?” Hit them with the record of socialist economies in producing, not just poverty, but poverty coupled to grotesque inequality and the most brutal tyrannies that have ever existed.
– They attack the U.S. for its magnificent military and its high morale? Tell them we who have much to defend must have an adequate defense, and that you hold nations that lack the will and the ability to defend themselves in complete and utter contempt.
It’s best to have some historical knowledge before one attempts this, of course. Also, be sure to walk away before the spittle starts to fly.
….or you could just tell them to go to hell. Works for me.
Oh, that will do in a pinch. It’s especially handy if you’re late for an appointment.
hell is too good for the left— it implies a behavior/ life against god… they are godless so we must banish them to their hell on earth—–> “Go to… DETROIT”
Here’s what I think that would look like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny4a-oxOndo
You have such a great way with words, a true joy to read.
Hope you have a most Merry Christmas!
Bravo, Francis. Simply bravo.
…Freedom of expression, regardless of who might be “offended;”
Do not fail to turn the weapon of ‘taking offense’ back on its inventors. We have, through our American sense of tolerance, given it the status of trumps, and backed off when faced by ‘offended’ activists. The leftist users of it have, Alinsky-like, made undeserved advances against us.
So grab that cudgel too. It may take using some street-activism, as the tea parties did, but a loud group of carolers with ‘Merry Christmas – You Got A Problem With That?’ picket signs, in front of a PC Mayor’s office, might help in curing her insufferable decrees of ‘oh-so-happy holidays-or-else’ when put up on YouTube.
“What happened to this country that we are no longer able to celebrate its core founding values and spiritual markers?”
Political correctness happened, pushed by minorities offended by American values, and aided and abetted by the progressives.
It’s going to blow up to their faces one sunny day.
Merry Christmas and God Bless.
Perhaps the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” is the last nail in the coffin for our culture. We have the Congress fighting over this, yet nobody seems too concerned about defending Christmas, a Congressionally mandated Federal Holiday. Think about how sad that is. The left in this country always makes fun of the fact when you say Christmas is under assault, yet it is VERY, VERY, real if you work in places like corporate America or if you’re a civil servant. Go try to publicly say “Merry Christmas” if you work at a big corporation or if you work at the Post Office (which, ironically, mails millions of Christmas cards each year; I guess they’re really “Holiday” cards, not Christmas cards).
I live in a town in New Jersey. Everybody is politically correct here and wishes everyone else a “Happy Holiday.” NOT ME. Here we say “Merry Christmas” and if you’re offended by it, tough. That’s what the holiday is, so say it! How long will it be before my kids in school will be required to say, “Happy Winter Solstice!”
Every Christmas the politically correct people in this country make me hate them just a little bit more.
PC has invaded the heads of the intellectually lazy. Millions think it faddish to be with the herd,(it’s for the common good you know!), and see all this Christmas argument and say “whatever” and move on….oblivious.
You either subscribe to the laws of “nature’s god” or the laws of man. More and more we are a nation of the laws of man. Men who can take them away, men who WILL take them away. History proves it time and time and time again.
Meanwhile the frog is happily sipping his eggnog and wondering if the water is a touch warm.
Merry Christmas and God Bless us all.
This is posted on my shop window……and yes, I own the shop:
WARNING
Sure, have a Happy Winter Holiday, and decorate your Dream Tree
and all that Jazz
But, around here we
Wish you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
If that bothers you, please feel free to
send your complaint to the shopkeeper.
(Note: so far, no complaints…….you just have to love the South)
I’m surprised the PC crowd hasn’t picked up on the glaring “gender” error in the name “Santa Claus”.
Technically, SANTA (at least in the Latin languages) is the feminine form of the masculine form SANTO or SAN and we see it in such American place names as Santa Ana, Santa Catalina, Santa Cruz and so on.
Therefore, our dearly beloved Santa Claus should either be a female figure (hopefully without beard or whiskers) or the word SANTA should be changed to SANTO (or SAN). Gender equality and all that.
UPDATE: Some of my linguistically minded friends have pointed out that our English word SANTA actually derives from the Dutch or German words for the word “Saint” and not from the Latin (although ultimately all derive it from the Latin).
This does not really help the situation. In fact, it is cause for further alarm since it “priviliges” the Germanic languages over the Latin languages and makes a mockery of our Hispanic heritage by demeaning and pooh poohing the obvious feminine gender of the word SANTA.
At least, it’s something to be prepared for since someone is bound to make an issue of it sooner or later.
I prefer “Grandfather Frosty Nuts”.
I don’t celebrate Christmas, but I must admit, I LOVE the season, the lights, the music, the festivities and most of all, I love the tradition of it. Christmas means so much to so many people and it is part of our Judeo-Christian heritage. I always say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. If anyone is offended by that, it’s their problem.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Same for me here in Montreal but in both languages.
“Joyeux Noel or Merry Christmas but not Happy Holidays.
Somebody has to keep it alive..
Merry Christmas from south Texas, Roger. Luckily we remain a solidly Christian community where churches still feel free to dress up the lawn with a Nativity Manger scene and Santa still comes to the mall and neighbors still decorate our houses with lights which unashamedly spell out in very large letters, “MERRY CHRISTMAS” openly for all to see.
Why is so hard for folks to remember Christ at Christmas?
It is way beyond dumb that the minorities are unable to endure the celebrations of differing cultures. That is a sure indication they should never have left their country of orgin. If the rigors encountering other cultures in world travel are too much for the minorities to withstand, shut yourself up in your house and blacken the windows.
Is it also to be understood they are too frail to withstand the sight of differing restaurants? Imagine their horror to see foods served from many countries. Why it is just too cruel.
I would like to know, just what moron thinks I am going to buy this load of donkey dung. I am very angered that they think to bold face lie to me with the inane drivelling of stupidity, which I am expected to treat as logical or acceptable. Go to hell, because I don’t buy the latest in dumb theories. Nor should you.
The analogy can be stretched past its limit, but there are many similarities between individuals and countries.
If a person hates himself, he isn’t going to have a good life, will probably get sick a lot, is certainly unhappy and is a high risk to die young, perhaps self-inflicted. And we know that people hating themselves is not directly related to their success or position in life. Rock stars die young, Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, many others. Wealth, talent, fame, breeding don’t seem to have much to do with it.
And this is exactly what our self-styled elites are imposing on thhis great country, which is by far the greatest in history, by any metric.
Isn’t Barack Obama’s hatred of our country really hatred of himself?
Why do we allow it. We are sane.
It’s utterly appropriate that Barack Obama hates himself; he is a most despicable man, married to a despicable woman.
I’ve been on a mission to say “Merry Christmas” to as many people as possible this year. I’m in the process of moving and need to talk to quite a few folks on the phone. I’ve yet to hear a discouraging word in return and in a couple of cases, I’ve heard a distinct elevation in mood on the other end of the conversation. One customer service rep even told me that my wishing him a Merry Christmas made his day.
Mission accomplished.
Most of us work under the threat of disciplinary action if we create the tiniest bump in the road for the PC Express. I would just love to debate the PC folk; however, acknowledging that you disagree with them is grounds for dismissal. Driscoll and Fernandez have recently published articles on Pajamasmedia.com that address these matters. My understanding of what they are saying is that PC is a political tool used by people who recognize only power as a value and who actively pursue destruction of the Enlightenment ideal of reasoned argument. So, we know our situation and what we need now is leadership. Do you have some ideas on where that leadership might come from? I cannot offer leadership because I am pinned to the mat.
A greeting of,”Merry Christmas to all.” That’s what we have to do. If 100 million of us express this in a cordial manner it cant help but spread.
I’m Jewish. I’m saying Merry Christmas to everyone I see.
And my favorite carol is O Holy Night. It’s lovely.
Me too, and I was really disappointed when I learned that the whole “Adolphe Adam was Jewish” thing was just an urban legend. ;_; I’m a big fan of “O Holy Night”, contrary to the expectations of most people (who apparently think that I’d be offended by singing or hearing the name “Christ”, or even by “having” to play an instrumental version of a song that includes it among the lyrics).
Christmas and Easter are pagan and obnoxious.
People who go out of their way to offend others are shameful.
Their actions say nothing about their targets; but reveal everything about the offenders.
Merry Christmas.
We celebrate the birth of a man who bore unspeakable suffering to make redemption possible for everyone. You casually and deliberately slander the concept that has given meaning to the life of billions of people.
The whole “political correctness” thing is just a mask.
The subversives want THEIR faith to win, and their faith is the blind faith in the absolute NOTHING.
The only “religion” that they help and tolerate is islam, because it is not a religion, it is merely a political-military enterprise.
The victory of nihilism is their goal.
Let’s pray for them too.
MERRY CHRISTMAS !
I agree with your reasoning but islam isn’t a “political-military enterprise,” it’s ONLY a crime syndicate, and the only even remotely “reliigous” part of is is where they say: “God told us to commit these crimes!”
The entertainment and news industry are squarely behind the elimination of Christmas from the public view. They are so strongly behind it they repeat the holiday version often and seldom say Christmas.
Our own governments role in promoting holiday is significant.
It is disgusting and should be opposed.
I never thought I would rise in defense of Nina Totenberg, but she said afterward from her “Christmas vacation” in Jamaica that she was speaking ironically because the party-givers at, I think, the Department of Defense had, like the hospital, studiously omitted “Christmas” in describing the reason for the party.
I say “Merry Christmas” a lot, but if we had true Christmas spirit, we would care less about whether others say Merry Christmas or Bah humbug. Why do I think that the complaint about others lack of Christmas spirit has something to do with our own lack thereof?
Anyway, most conservatives are really Scrooges, too, but that’s OK, because we really do need to keep down the excess population of illegal immigrants in this country, whereas the liberals want to have all of us buy them that fat goose down at the market place.
Merry Christmas and God bless us every one.
Dwightie, I say merry Christmas to one person and bah humbug to the next not because I have the true Christmas spirit nor because it pleases you, but because it is fun to do stupid things that are meaningless and that confuse others, don’t you agree. Oh, sorry, as a genius your are unable to agree with anything, just as you are unable to disagree with anything, because you always choose the middle way or no way at all.
Anyway, because you have the true non-committal spirit, I ask that you consider a balance scale. One dish is for the known weight. The other is for the substance to be weighed. You are the old stick in the middle seeing yourself as performing a service by holding up both sides. But you convey no information nor judgment at all. Merry Humbug.
As an atheist for Christmas (which started as a pagan holiday, fyi), I’m firmly in support of saying “Merry Christmas”, which is surely one of the wonderful Western traditions of benevolence, cheer, and happiness among people.
I am firmly opposed to the anti-Christmas manipulators who use this as an issue to attack *any* Western institution. Their bigger goal transcends attacks on Christianity: they seek the obliteration of the entire Western tradition from ancient Greece to the present, and more broadly yet (though less obviously) the essence of that tradition: the veneration of reason in human affairs, and the rights of the individual in all political affairs. Obama’s ascendancy to the throne (as he sees it) is the apotheosis of that assault.
which started as a pagan holiday
Wrong, fyi.
Libertyship46 wrote (#6) wrote: “how long will it be before my kids in school are required to say “Happy Winter Solstice?” Well, the solstice was celebrated long before the Christians appropriated the end of year for their purposes.
“Every Christmas, the politically correct people in this country make me hate them just a little bit more.” Why is it necessary for you to hate anything or anyone? From my perspective, the notion that Christians require everyone to celebrate THEIR holiday is a stronger dose of political correctness than what other religions or secularists call for. After all, it’s the far right wing Christian TV & radio preachers who keep talking about the “war on Christmas” as a means to dupe more people into giving them money.
At this time of year, I wish people a happy holidays; merry Christmas; and even throw in the winter solstice. It’s too bad that some Christians behave like Scrooges in expecting everyone to celebrate THEIR way and only their way. Have a good one all.
From another poster somewhere. I cannot remember but the comment fits here:
Christmas salutation
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011 but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
Hmm, sounds like something Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA (Oxon), would say – except for the references to America of course.
May it give some comfort to SteveB.
Being politically correct… is not politically correct!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! …to those whom wish it so.
Politically Correct = Factually Incorrect!
I don’t care who lays claim to Christmas or if it is, or isn’t the correct date of Christ’s birth. I don’t take part in the excessive commercialisation.
Since I was born, December 25 has been Christmas day and I love what it represents. I love the season, I love the lights and I love the good will. Best of all, I love the day spent with the family.
Merry Christmas.
Saying “Merry Christmas!” is becoming an act of defiance.
“Just a hurried line…. to tell a story which puts the contrast between our feast of the Nativity and all this ghastly “Xmas” racket at its lowest. My brother heard a woman on a ‘bus say, as the ‘bus passed a church with a Crib outside it, “Oh Lor’! They bring religion into everything. Look – they’re dragging it even in to Christmas now!”
C.S. Lewis
Christmas cheer (O Christmas Tree!)
O Pencil Neck! O Pencil Neck!
You actually made me give heck!
We’re sick and TIRED of your VANITY!
Its time to RESTORE some SANITY!
O Pencil Neck! O Pencil Neck!
You actually made me give a heck!
“Actually” has too many syllables. The “O Pencil Neck” meter may work better with “You _finally_ made me give a heck.” Good song, nonetheless!
I’m celebrating the twelve days of Christmas – it’s that tiny Christian church season wedged between Advent and Epiphany.
When I was young the inevitable refrain at this time of year was “Keep Christ in Christmas” — a reaction to the perceived over-commercialization and secularization of the holiday. Now that I have reached middle age, the impulse seems to be to get Christ out of Christmas, as quickly and completely as possible. As a conservative, I am mortified by the hypersensitivity of non-Christians — I think really it is our post-Christian nannies — to the traditional festival of the birth of Christ. On the other hand, one has to admit that the practice of celebrating a holiday at this time of year (in the Northern Hemisphere) predates Christianity, and that early Christians evidently just tacked Christmas on to such pagan observances out of convenience. And of course much of what our society counts as the practice of Christmas has nothing to do with the Christian religion. So let the pagans have their “Holiday” back, I say, and let us Christians revert to a more subdued and reverent celebration of our Savior’s nativity.
NPR here in Houston will only say “Happy Holidays” on every occasion where “Merry Christmas” is appropriate and used to be said. My guess is that this is their far-left effort to further undermine the dominant culture (in the name of “inclusiveness.” It’s really obvious now with the big O in charge of the big house.
All kinds of people travel the world to enjoy the celebrations, festivals, foods and culture of other lands. It is not always cheap to do so, but people are willing to spend their hard earned money for the experience of exposure of different cultures.
Why are we asked not to have our culture celebrated in the normal, usual way? Do people not also travel to enjoy the celebrations of Christmas? Do we expect other lands to give up their celebrations for fear of offending the tourist?
Finally, is there any way to gag the nonsense mouth of the looney left?
Speaking for myself, the exquisite piety evoked by the needling questioner brought a measure of merriment to my Christmas. And some of the indignant pomposities evoked by Roger’s post were also enjoyable.
A Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and/or Fabulous Venting Day to you All.
The problem is that intellectual independence is dead in most people. They are so afraid of being left out or isolated that the idea of thinking for themselves is virtually non-existent. Another problem, paradoxically, is that democracy itself, certainly to a degree, tends to embrace this attitude–after all, aren’t we all equal?
Wasn’t that Toynbee who said civilizations die from suicide?
How about replacing Christmas, and the idea of a White Christmas, with an anti-holiday called Black Friday, smearing both Thanksgiving and Christmas at the same time with insanely toxic commercialism. All Black Friday needs is some Satanic symbols to complete the picture, although the videos and games some parents rush out to buy have that covered.
The reason why I say, “Good Holiday!” is that I have a — pardon the word — diverse set of friends: Some are indeed Christian, and to them I have no problem wishing “Merry Christmas!” as this is their holiday. Similarly, I have no problem wishing my Jewish friends a “Happy Chanukkah!” (I wonder, though, how enthusiastic Jewish folk of the left would be over Chanukkah if they remembered that this is the celebration of a victory in the Culture Wars of that day of what would then have been the local religious Right, by armed force no less, over Hellenistic cosmopolitanism.) To those of my own Faith, I say “Good Yule!” That is our Holy Day and holiday. to them without religion, or misanthropic, I say, “Happy Humbug!”