War is Over (If You Want It)

Local corporations are under attack. People are angry and calling talk radio to rant about the injustice happening around us. No, these businesses are not employing children in third world countries. They are not in trouble for paying workers a substandard wage nor have they been caught dumping toxic waste into our water supply. Instead, companies are courting boycotts because they’ve put up signs and told employees to say, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”.

The nerve!

When I was young, I’d yell at clerks who dared presume I was Christian. “Happy Chanukah!” I’d shout defiantly. Since then, I’ve mellowed a bit. Now I’m happy just to get a salesperson to smile during this harried season. They could call out “Happy Festivus” for all I care. I’d smile and say, “Same to you.”

Not everyone is as easy to please.

Editorials have been printed, complaints mailed, protests planned. Paranoia is at an all-time high with the publication of a new book, The War on Christmas, calling on Christian soldiers to defend their faith. I’m amazed at the anger of our moral majority. They behave as if under attack; in reality, Christian conservatives control most corporations, media outlets, and each branch of our government. They’re everywhere – large and in charge. Yet they insist their days are numbered.

For years this argument has surfaced during the holidays. Keeping people on the defensive, even when there is no attack, ensures a fragmented society. Who really benefits from such a perceived problem? Long ago, people would claim that the Jews were trying to destroy Christmas. Misguided media hacks claim the same thing this year; they just call us by a different name: liberals.

Yes, some non-Christians are Jewish. However, there are also Muslim, Hindu and, although it pains a few to hear it, Atheist Americans as well. Are we to exclude all of them, too? Stores want to bring people in. Their primary motivation is money; however, the added benefit is a cohesive community.

Christians could have a conversation amongst themselves regarding trends that take Christ out of Christmas. Rage toward those who reach out during the holidays to include everyone reeks of anti-Semitism and threatens to erode everything this time of year is supposed to be about. Letters have scornfully cried that this is political correctness gone too far. Many vow to wish everyone, regardless of faith, a “Merry Christmas” whether they like it or not. That’s the spirit?

We hear what we want to hear. When someone says, “Happy Holidays”, Christians hear “Merry Christmas”, Jews hear “Happy Chanukah”, other faiths hear “Peace be with you” and Atheists, “You’re included, too.” Unity, it seems, is a message conservative Christians can’t get behind.

Didn’t Jesus, this Savior who is honored each December, encourage peace and goodwill toward others? Didn’t he believe we are all God’s children and teach lessons about loving our neighbors as ourselves? He embodied the true meaning of the holidays without ever once uttering, “Merry Christmas”.

His followers should take heed and enjoy the season. Let everyone else enjoy it, too.

***Cross-posted at Out In Left Field***