The Way I See It - Away from the manger
The Way I See It - Away from the manger
by Doug Dickerson
Staff Writer
November 22, 2006
Christmas music began playing in the office last week. Bah,humbug! Yes, I like Christmas music, but it’s not supposed to be played until after Thanksgiving. Any more, it’s hard to live in the moment of any one given holiday before the next one is thrust upon us with all sorts of marketing ploys. Nevertheless, I digress.
Last week the Town Council of Mt. Pleasant voted to change the name of the annual holiday parade to – are you ready for this? – the Christmas Parade. What a novel idea! Then, we heard from Dot Scott, the president of the Charleston branch of the NAACP, who believes that there are not enough black Santas. According to Scott, “I believe the kids need to understand that good things come in black, too.”
In recent years, the legal intimidation and assault on Christmas has reached epic proportions. In one school, green and red napkins were forbidden at school parties – only white ones allowed, because of a parental complaint. Apparently, they missed the concept that white is symbolic of holy purity. Ooops!
In Texas a couple years back, children were not allowed to distribute candy canes to classmates. Four families sued, accusing the school district of violating the Constitution with “continual efforts to ban Christmas.” It took a federal district judge to allow students to distribute “religious viewpoint gifts” at December (not Christmas) parties. The school district responded by saying it “fosters acceptance of all cultures” (really!) and welcomes celebrations of diversity at parties. Isn’t it ironic that schools now have Winter breaks instead of Christmas breaks in December?
Whether in your tradition you say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Holidays or nothing at all, why can’t we all just be happy for the other?
How did we get to the point that two simple words can cause such a disruption of a holiday that is supposed to be based on peace, good will to men (not just to Christians), and redemption?
A major reason why is due to the politically correct police. They claim tolerance and acceptance, but have demonstrated little tolerance or acceptance of anyone’s viewpoint other than their own. In doing so, they have indoctrinated society with the dogma of inclusion and equality. The new definitions of these words mean that everything is identical and everyone must be included in everything. If not, then whatever is at issue must be eliminated or watered-down. As the flawed logic goes, since not everyone celebrates Christmas, then change it – no longer have a Christmas parade, have a holiday parade. No longer do you have a Christmas tree, it’s a holiday tree. You can no longer give Christmas gifts, they are “religious viewpoint gifts.” Where does this madness end?
Support for the traditional practice and celebration of Christmas came from an unlikely source last week. Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury formed the Christian Muslim Forum, a group of Muslim and Christian leaders. Last week they spoke out against politicians and town halls that play down Christmas. A number of town halls in England have tried to excise referrals to Christianity from Christmas, in one case by renaming their municipal celebrations “Winterval.” However, the Muslim leaders said they honored Christmas and that local authorities were playing into the hands of extremists who were able to blame Muslim communities for undermining Britain’s Christian culture. A statement released by the forum said, “Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus and we wish this significant part of the Christian heritage of this country to remain an acknowledged part of national life. The desire to secularize religious festivals is offensive to both our communities.”
In Britain, the traditional celebration of Christmas is being defended by Muslims, who see that the attack of one person’s faith and tradition is a threat to us all. We must not allow extremists, in the name of equality, to hijack our tradition simply because they do not like it. I support the right of extremists not to celebrate Christmas, but not their intention to deprive me of my practice of doing so. We must see the big picture here. It’s not about Santa being black or white, having a holiday parade or a Christmas parade. The true spirit of Christmas is larger than a symbol; it’s about peace on earth, good will towards people.
Merry Christmas!
©Summerville Journal-Scene 2006
by Doug Dickerson
Staff Writer
November 22, 2006
Christmas music began playing in the office last week. Bah,humbug! Yes, I like Christmas music, but it’s not supposed to be played until after Thanksgiving. Any more, it’s hard to live in the moment of any one given holiday before the next one is thrust upon us with all sorts of marketing ploys. Nevertheless, I digress.
Last week the Town Council of Mt. Pleasant voted to change the name of the annual holiday parade to – are you ready for this? – the Christmas Parade. What a novel idea! Then, we heard from Dot Scott, the president of the Charleston branch of the NAACP, who believes that there are not enough black Santas. According to Scott, “I believe the kids need to understand that good things come in black, too.”
In recent years, the legal intimidation and assault on Christmas has reached epic proportions. In one school, green and red napkins were forbidden at school parties – only white ones allowed, because of a parental complaint. Apparently, they missed the concept that white is symbolic of holy purity. Ooops!
In Texas a couple years back, children were not allowed to distribute candy canes to classmates. Four families sued, accusing the school district of violating the Constitution with “continual efforts to ban Christmas.” It took a federal district judge to allow students to distribute “religious viewpoint gifts” at December (not Christmas) parties. The school district responded by saying it “fosters acceptance of all cultures” (really!) and welcomes celebrations of diversity at parties. Isn’t it ironic that schools now have Winter breaks instead of Christmas breaks in December?
Whether in your tradition you say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Holidays or nothing at all, why can’t we all just be happy for the other?
How did we get to the point that two simple words can cause such a disruption of a holiday that is supposed to be based on peace, good will to men (not just to Christians), and redemption?
A major reason why is due to the politically correct police. They claim tolerance and acceptance, but have demonstrated little tolerance or acceptance of anyone’s viewpoint other than their own. In doing so, they have indoctrinated society with the dogma of inclusion and equality. The new definitions of these words mean that everything is identical and everyone must be included in everything. If not, then whatever is at issue must be eliminated or watered-down. As the flawed logic goes, since not everyone celebrates Christmas, then change it – no longer have a Christmas parade, have a holiday parade. No longer do you have a Christmas tree, it’s a holiday tree. You can no longer give Christmas gifts, they are “religious viewpoint gifts.” Where does this madness end?
Support for the traditional practice and celebration of Christmas came from an unlikely source last week. Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury formed the Christian Muslim Forum, a group of Muslim and Christian leaders. Last week they spoke out against politicians and town halls that play down Christmas. A number of town halls in England have tried to excise referrals to Christianity from Christmas, in one case by renaming their municipal celebrations “Winterval.” However, the Muslim leaders said they honored Christmas and that local authorities were playing into the hands of extremists who were able to blame Muslim communities for undermining Britain’s Christian culture. A statement released by the forum said, “Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus and we wish this significant part of the Christian heritage of this country to remain an acknowledged part of national life. The desire to secularize religious festivals is offensive to both our communities.”
In Britain, the traditional celebration of Christmas is being defended by Muslims, who see that the attack of one person’s faith and tradition is a threat to us all. We must not allow extremists, in the name of equality, to hijack our tradition simply because they do not like it. I support the right of extremists not to celebrate Christmas, but not their intention to deprive me of my practice of doing so. We must see the big picture here. It’s not about Santa being black or white, having a holiday parade or a Christmas parade. The true spirit of Christmas is larger than a symbol; it’s about peace on earth, good will towards people.
Merry Christmas!
©Summerville Journal-Scene 2006
posted by Doug Dickerson | 12:00 PM
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