I've been trying to ignore this whole debate because I think it's rather silly, but it seems to be permeating everything I read or hear lately. Since Hadrian and Lummox have had their say about Christmas 2005, I guess I'll offer my take. Which is: Relax. Enjoy celebrating your holiday (or not) with your family and friends and be considerate enough to let everyone else do the same. Don't force your holiday on everyone else, but, on the other hand, don't hold it against people if they're excited about celebrating something. The word/idea of Christmas, in and of itself, is not evangelical and doesn't need to be banished from the public realm. But it is a religious holiday (in theory) and shouldn't be forced on those of a different faith or presented in a way that makes them feel excluded from the mainstream for being different. All it takes is a little sensitivity and consideration on everyone's part and this whole issue can just go away.
That said, I do have to admit to being a liberal and don't think the right is being very sensitive or considerate about turning this into a "culture war." As with so many of their other issues, they seem to be creating this idea of a "war on Christmas" as a way to further push their agenda on everyone else. I won't rant too much since Hadrian already did, but thought I could share a bit of reading from the paper this morning. Excerpts
"On the one hand, the Christmas defense team is portraying its side as the overwhelming majority, the 90 percent who celebrate Christmas. On the other hand they are describing themselves as oppressed, indeed victimized. On the one hand they want more Christ in Christmas; on the other hand they want more Christmas in the marketplace. It makes one long for the screeds against commercialism."
"One of the hallmarks of the culture wars is the way tolerance of diverse beliefs is reframed as intolerance for the majority."
And that simple sentence, I think, says it all.
8 comments:
And, I would like to add this:
http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=10784
sorry, no time to make it a link.
While this epic holiday battle has been waging in the trenches of cable news for quite some time, it is just now that the War on Christmas, sorry, I meant The Global Struggle Against Chrismas, has claimed its first casualty:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1756&e=3&u=/051213/480/nykw10112131754
I think the question mark in that link says a lot.
My two cents? I'm confused.
By the way, I know that Lummox intended his poem to be basically what you're saying: stop stressing over a few words and just enjoy your time as you choose to spend it.
Actually Lummox'x poem came across to me as making the exact opposite point of the one I was trying to. I, however, cannot speak for Degolar.
Well I don't think mine is nearly as fun as Lummox's. I read the point as similar but slightly different, though. Where I'm asking for moderation in the matter but am ultimately annoyed by the right, I read him as asking for moderation in the matter but as ultimately annoyed by the left. I don't think I really added much to the discussion, I just like the second quote from the editorial and wanted a way to share it. But one of the things I really like about this blog is that it's shared. We can all write about the same thing but will have different things to say and have different voices to say them with.
And a very nice read, Hadrian. Thanks for sharing the link.
"There is a Christmas scandal this year, but it's not the controversy at shopping malls and retail stores about whether their displays say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." The real Christmas scandal is the budget proposed by the House of Representatives that cuts food stamps, health care, child support, and educational assistance to low-income families - while further lowering taxes for the wealthiest Americans and increasing the deficit for all of our grandchildren."
Sojourners
Thank you for that, Degolar. It's good to see that real news stories still exist. I just wish that cable news networks could catch on to that fact and stop reporting on the most trivial matters of the day.
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