Cory_McCloskey's Blog

Merry Christmas! Happy Hannakuh! Happy Kwaanza! Happy Holidays! Super Solstice!

Does it really make a difference? Is the discussion worth the effort? I suppose that if you feel that YOUR holiday is being squeezed out of the picture by the hall monitors of political correctness, then it might make a difference to you.

In that case, let's see who's being squeezed. Hmmm...

Heard of any pressure on anyone to refrain from wishing someone a Happy Hannakuh lately? No? Any movement to squash the open discussion of Kwaanza in school? Certainly not!

I guess it's only Christmas that is verboten, jah? Only Christmas is on the run.

Isn't it silly? 

If we try to take the emotion out of it for a moment and analyze the greeting itself, what in the world is so offensive?

Merry Christmas.  Isn't it merely a pleasant wish for the recipient by the one who says it?  Is it any more intrusive than "God bless you" after a sneeze, or "Godspeed" when wishing for someone's quick arrival?  Or even "have a nice day"?

In other words, how can it really hurt?  Even if the recipient of a "Merry Christmas" wish is a cast-iron, four-door athiest, how is the atheist harmed by this purely positive sentiment?  The answer is that he isn't.  He isn't harmed at all. What ever happened to just smiling and moving along? 

Must the Christmas-hating lobby inflict their narrow-minded views on the rest of us?  Isn't it interesting that those who tend to crow most about "diversity" and "inclusiveness" want to include everything but Christmas?  They're laughably transparent, yet immune to irony.

Do you know any American Jews who are offended by the sight of Christmas lights or Santa or being wished the accidental "Merry Christmas"?  Michael Medved, the movie critic and orthodox American Jew, is one of the staunchest defenders of Christmas and all it entails.  He feels that the lights and displays alone are so American and woven into the nation's fabric that they should not be molested.  Thanks, Mr. Medved.

Anyway, the debate will roll on through Christmas, 2007 and into 2008 and beyond.  Those who love Christmas and all that it means to most Americans will continue to defend the ability to celebrate it freely, and those with nothing to do but continue their attempts to make sure that everyone is as indifferent and miserable as they are will also stay their course.

Merry Christmas!