Ho - Ho - Ho-hum
Christmas has passed, but not without the chorus of anti-Western protesters chanting their opposition to the use in American society of certain phrases associated for centuries with this season of well being. Down with "Merry Christmas" and out with "God Bless You." Up with "Happy Holidays" and in with "Season's Greetings." But this year, some lovers of the Christmas tradition have lashed back in newspaper and television commentaries.
Critics as diverse as Charles Krauthammer, James Q. Wilson in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Oliver North, Emmett Tyrrell, and John Gibson in his "My Word" segment of The Big Story have lambasted the politically correct tendencies of the liberal media, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other let's-do-no-insult-to minority-religions or cultures-organizations for their insistence that traditional terms denoting the Christmas season be curtailed or completely eliminated. These groups not only want to take the Christ out of Christmas, they also want to take the -mas out of Xmas.
The life and teachings of Jesus Christ are the foundations upon which Christian churches are built. Although the United States is overwhelmingly Christian in outlook (eight-five to ninety percent of Americans profess to be Christians) and quite liberal and tolerant toward other religions within its midst, this doesn't seem to be good enough for certain liberal and intolerant individuals, groups, and organizations.
But let's be honest. Christmas is the reason for the season. Would Americans knowingly spend and spend and go into debt during any other time of the year? If it is true the economy basically recovers during the splurge at the end of the year, when, in the name of Jesus, would Americans, so thriftly for eleven months of the year, throw monetary caution to the wind and plunge headfirst into an ocean of gluttony - food, drink, and merchandise? Do we bottle up our desires for months, only to let loose in December without cause?
Certainly not. Yet, it's apparent to the least informed that to tie the greatest shopping season of the year to two of the deadly sins - greed and gluttony - would be counterproductive.
To those who wish to mitigate the Christian elements of the season of giving and receiving by using phrases such as "Happy Holidays!" and "Season's Greetings!", I can only say these phrases in no way diminish the true nature of the season. In fact, if we examine the phrases, we can see they refer to nothing less than Christmas itself. Holidays is simply a shortened; combined form of the phrase holy days, and, in Western culture, these days occur during specified times of the year. Christmas is the most important of these holy days.
And it goes without the need for much comment that "Season's Greetings" denotes one season, the Christmas season. Are these phrases next on the chopping block?
Whether some like it or not, Christianity is the bedrock of modern Western culture. To pretend otherwise is sheer folly. And a fundamental belief of Western culture - of American culture - is a tolerance toward all religious beliefs, even those that run counter to Western traditions, such as Islam, for example.
It would be nice if the minorities would allow the majority to celebrate its beliefs, openly and without fear of condemnation. The tyranny of the minority is just as abhorrent as the tyranny of the majority. If we are, as a society, to have the benefits of the season, then we all need to recognize this time of year as the Christmas season.
Critics as diverse as Charles Krauthammer, James Q. Wilson in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Oliver North, Emmett Tyrrell, and John Gibson in his "My Word" segment of The Big Story have lambasted the politically correct tendencies of the liberal media, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other let's-do-no-insult-to minority-religions or cultures-organizations for their insistence that traditional terms denoting the Christmas season be curtailed or completely eliminated. These groups not only want to take the Christ out of Christmas, they also want to take the -mas out of Xmas.
The life and teachings of Jesus Christ are the foundations upon which Christian churches are built. Although the United States is overwhelmingly Christian in outlook (eight-five to ninety percent of Americans profess to be Christians) and quite liberal and tolerant toward other religions within its midst, this doesn't seem to be good enough for certain liberal and intolerant individuals, groups, and organizations.
But let's be honest. Christmas is the reason for the season. Would Americans knowingly spend and spend and go into debt during any other time of the year? If it is true the economy basically recovers during the splurge at the end of the year, when, in the name of Jesus, would Americans, so thriftly for eleven months of the year, throw monetary caution to the wind and plunge headfirst into an ocean of gluttony - food, drink, and merchandise? Do we bottle up our desires for months, only to let loose in December without cause?
Certainly not. Yet, it's apparent to the least informed that to tie the greatest shopping season of the year to two of the deadly sins - greed and gluttony - would be counterproductive.
To those who wish to mitigate the Christian elements of the season of giving and receiving by using phrases such as "Happy Holidays!" and "Season's Greetings!", I can only say these phrases in no way diminish the true nature of the season. In fact, if we examine the phrases, we can see they refer to nothing less than Christmas itself. Holidays is simply a shortened; combined form of the phrase holy days, and, in Western culture, these days occur during specified times of the year. Christmas is the most important of these holy days.
And it goes without the need for much comment that "Season's Greetings" denotes one season, the Christmas season. Are these phrases next on the chopping block?
Whether some like it or not, Christianity is the bedrock of modern Western culture. To pretend otherwise is sheer folly. And a fundamental belief of Western culture - of American culture - is a tolerance toward all religious beliefs, even those that run counter to Western traditions, such as Islam, for example.
It would be nice if the minorities would allow the majority to celebrate its beliefs, openly and without fear of condemnation. The tyranny of the minority is just as abhorrent as the tyranny of the majority. If we are, as a society, to have the benefits of the season, then we all need to recognize this time of year as the Christmas season.
posted by wdriver | 2:18 PM
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