Season's Greetings @ MindSay

The war on christmas should really be called the war on consideration.  I was discussing an issue online with teachers about the ethics involved in sending Christmas cards to students.  I advised her that while you may feel very strongly in your personal life about particular beliefs and feel it is appropriate to express those feelings in certain ways, those same expressions may become inappropriate in your public role as a teacher. It may be viewed as an opportunistic abuse of your position if you take it upon yourself to express your personal beliefs to those whose social relationship to you is based exclusively on the mandatory student-teacher relationship.

I also made a point that I think should be made much more often.  Those who make waves standing up for equal recognition in the face of the Judeo-Christian majority are the ones most often heard about.  However, I would be willing to guess that for every one person of non-christian or non-theistic background that demands recognition of their equal status, there are a hundred that sit in silence, every Christo-centric reference reminding them they are an outsider, they are different, and suggesting their beliefs are not valid. 

Which is why I believe it is really a war on consideration.  Telling someone Merry Christmas is prejudicial.  It is making an assumption that the person you are addressing recognizes and accepts the traditions and particular mythologies that you do.  If that is the case and you know it, then it is perfectly reasonable.  If you are uncertain, it is just considerate to be more generic, acknowledge that not everyone conforms to the same beliefs.  Seasons Greetings or Happy Holidays are not assaults on the Christian faithful.  They're polite remarks by thoughtful people who have taken into consideration the pluralistic nature of our society and shows tolerance and a true reaching out for cooperation despite difference.  If you meet a large woman that you suspect is pregnant, it is generally polite to not mention it until you know for sure.  After all, she may just be rather large.  And unless you are completely callous toward the feelings of others, you would like to avoid such a disparaging remark.  Being inclusive in a holiday greeting is no more an attack on christmas than opening letter with "Dear sir or madam" is an assault on gender identification. 

I firmly believe that some of the same people (not all) who complain about the "war" on Christmas, or find themselves griping about censorship in the name of being politically correct and that their rights are being restricted would be complaining the loudest if every February I sent out Darwin Day cards celebrating the Theory of Evolution. And the funny thing is, an argument can be made that Darwin Day cards would actually have an educational component and no religious overtones so perhaps would be more appropriate for the classroom.

Nevertheless, I am sure some who feel it is their right to be pro-christmas regardless of others in almost every facet of their life, including the classroom would suddenly want to restrict my voice even though the idea being promoted is a scientific fact rather than a particular faith.

The war on christmas crowd is really just a bunch of people who enjoy a power trip.  They believe that they are absolutely right and anyone who thinks differently should basically just get over it, leave, or keep their mouth shut.  Christmas is basically a commercialized crock at this point anyway.  I wonder sometimes how many of these blowhards are just hypocrites who want to be contrarians and bigots and look for an outlet that they feel makes them just seem exceedingly pious.  You know, when you complain that Happy Holidays as a phrase is a part of some secular agenda to restrict Christian presence in American society, you just end up looking like an asshole.  But some of these are the same people who see the word "tolerant" as a code word for homosexuality and evil.  To those people I have a message:

You can't bully people into respecting your beliefs. You can't force the world to conform to your fantasy. You can't prove your love to your kids with excessive consumer spending. You can't prove devotion to your faith by screaming the loudest. You can't say you're not a bigot while disparaging others on the basis of religion, sex or ethnicity.  You can't be a martyr in a majority.  You can't go back to the way it was because it was never the way you think it was.   I am sorry  that the world  is so scary and unpredicatable with individuals who may think you are wrong about some pretty important things in your life.  I know it is hard to accept that you might not have found all the answers while in little league.  It really sucks to be of simple mind in a complex world, but it is time as they say, to "man-up" and face your fears.  It's time to deal with the real world on real terms and quit playing good guys/bad guys, stop making up stories to get your way, and put away the army men.  I am sorry, but there is no Santa.  Have a Merry F-ing' Kwanzhanukristmas Holiday.

The Southern Fried Skeptic