Sound Off...12.26.05: The War On Christmas

Posted by Shane Viars on 12.26.2005

The Jump from Music to Politics Begins...

I am currently sitting at my computer on Christmas Eve, wondering what exactly my first column in Politics should be about. I have several ideas, all of which will be given due time, but this one seems fitting for the time we are in now…

I work in a mall store. Retail. I get to be the bright and cheery gentleman ringing you up whilst you complain about the long lines, even though it is your fault that you waited for the last minute to shop. I smile warmly at you and hand you your purchase and tell you to have a "Happy Holiday," while you tell me to have a "Merry Christmas." I cannot return the favor, because it is against my company policy.

The controversial "War on Christmas," has been argued about for a long time now, and this year, it seemingly gained more widespread attention from the media. Companies such as Target forbade a Christmas feel, and even opted out of allowing the Salvation Army bell ringers to stand outside the stores for donations. This led to a public backlash against them, and I predict falling numbers for that company because of their choices in dealing with the season.

The "holiday season," falls into the quarter of the shopping year that pulls in well over a quarter of the yearly business. Polling has shown that while only about 84% of the country is Christian, or some sect of it, about 96% of the country celebrates Christmas, so why the ban on it?

There has been a growing problem with the American public, and that is our need to be politically correct. I'm not saying that this can't spare the feelings of those not in the majority that the art of being P.C. protects, but some people take it too far. We have this desire to protect the feelings of everyone, yet not hurting someone means that another person isn't allowed to experience joy in something.

As a straight, Caucasian male, I am always having to watch what I say around people. This is because if I say something, and it is misunderstood, I am labeled as a bigot. This couldn't be further from the truth. I am a very open minded individual (a liberal republican, a subject I will touch upon in my next Politics column) who is able to see the humor in stereotypes. I know that being Irish will begin jokes about drinking and small equipment, but when people make comments, it doesn't bother me. Why not? Because I am a grown up. Yet if I speak my mind about an issue, it is taken as a "typical male point of view," or something along those lines.

Breaking off, but as a matter of principle, it is like my feelings on affirmative action. Do I agree with it? No. Why not? Because I don't feel that a hard working student should ever be kept out of a school because their ethnic population must reflect that of the population of the country. Does this make me a racist? Not in any way, shape or form. People should be rewarded for their hard work, but telling people this, they assume it is because of a fictitious hatred of blacks. But back to the point of growing up…

People who condemn others for wishing people a Merry Christmas, even though they themselves celebrate the holiday, all need to grow up, and there is no other way of looking at it. Fine, I'll give you're your separation of Church and State, but why should that effect the way that a company chooses to express itself during the holidays? The 4% or so of the country that doesn't celebrate Christmas needs to realize that they are in such a small slice of the pie circle, not even I would want it (I'm also slightly overweight, I made a fat joke at myself, get it?) I can understand that people have differing viewpoints, but I think the average citizen is very open to other peoples' beliefs, but they also want to be able to say "Merry Christmas," without feeling like a jerk about it.

I suppose then, that what it all boils down to is a feeling of comfort. We want everyone to be comfortable, yet we are taking an uncomfortable approach to it. If the additional, non-Christians who do celebrate Christmas can be okay with the holiday, why is it that these very outspoken advocates against Christmas cannot get over themselves?

I would understand more if the holiday was still very religious. However, the holiday has been taking a backseat with the religious aspects of it, and has been promoting families, togetherness, and unity with your fellow man. When people march to the monuments of consumerism, do you think that Jesus is on their mind, or the planning they have to do to make sure their entire family is together? Speaking as a retail slave, I can tell you that more often than not, it's the latter.

The problem in extending wishes to the holidays of other sects of religion, or even those secular, around Christmas time, is that none of the other days carry as much festivity as Christmas.

Hanukkah may be a festival celebration of lights, it is also a reminder of the dangers the Jews faced, which is why they celebrate the miracle of the oil in their lamps lasting for so long. Also, this is not even the biggest holiday for Jewish people; that honor goes to Yom Kippur.

Kwanzaa was a holiday created in 1966. While I have respect for African-American wants to hold onto their ancestry; they also have Christmas. As stated, created in 1966, I don't quite think that this celebration carries the amount of historical weight that any religious holiday has.

Ramadan is celebrated during the month of the same name, which to the Gregorian Calendar, was October 4th – November 2nd of this year, which is quite a while before the current time period.

While I agree that it is important to hold onto your heritage, it is known full well that an overwhelming majority of citizens celebrate Christmas, and they should be allowed to in peace. We shouldn't ridiculously refer to Christmas trees as holiday trees, nor should anyone be expected to apologize for wishing someone a Merry Christmas. The trend in this country is that the average citizen is becoming soft and not caring about the fact that their civil liberties are being taken away. But here, I want to give you all a voice. I want to see some e-mails hit my inbox with your thoughts on the holiday season, if there is a war on Christmas, and who is to blame. Establishing free speech has always been a goal of mine, and here is your chance to sound off.

Until next time, I can always be reached in the Music Zone and on the Forums (as GLCorps) Goodnight, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (which begins the same evening) and a Hapy New Year. This has been Shane V., sounding off.