Is it me, or is this just stupid? Am I missing something?
Christmas (for now) is still a national and state holiday here in Massachusetts. Even though I am not a fan of Santa Clause, he comes out of the Christian tradition - ummm, he is not Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist. The term Christmas is short for the Old English phrase: Cristes maesse (the Christ Mass); a traditional church holiday that has been around for a long long time (1038). And the truth is that it is celebrated by a lot of folks that could give reindeer's backside about Jesus the Christ.
The use of the word Christmas apparently is exclusive - well not inclusive of 100% the population. Yet Jesus the Christ never turned away anyone, nor did he ever stop preaching the Kingdom of God! I am not sure where Allah and Buddha stand in terms of inclusion, but I am guessing that you need to choose. Are you in, or are you out?
Looking at this logically, we have lots of words that are exclusive: male, female, carpenter, software geek, American, 5th-grader, homeless, and President; where each noun describes a subset of our society. All but one, I have been.
Our laws, although meant to protect the rights of all (inclusive), were never meant to be exclusive. Until recently, when we've had a real push for hate crimes legislation, murder was just murder. Now we have a variety of murder-s if it is motivated by the hate of a specific group. Are you kidding me? When was murder loving? And what's the difference if a man (mankind to be politically correct) takes the life of a suburban house wife or shoots a poor, homeless, disabled, black, homosexual, Greek, senior citizen from Chicago? Murder is murder and demands justice.
The same is true of Christmas. It simply describes the religious practice of a subset of the worlds citizens. Why we must wear the school uniform in all public places sounds a lot like Communist China after the WW II to me. I say join in the celebration if you like lights, trees and gifts - hell, even Santa Clause. But please don't limit my expression of who I am because it is not who you are - those are the seeds of racism, intolerance and genocide.
If the separation of church and state is so important, then outlaw the use of specific terms, holidays (IE: Christmas, Good Friday etc.) and anything that smacks of religion or faith. Maybe we can worship anti-depressants instead - I hear they are growing in popularity. But until then, give me a politically correct break, OK?
If we are all uniquely created or evolved, then what is does it matter that I am Christian and maybe you are not? When I speak, I sound like I am from New England, and you might sound like you grew up at Graceland, who really cares?
Jesus was exclusive, but he never stopped being who He was for the lost, the poor, the unsaved, the religious, the politically powerful or the those that desired to be included.
Think about it.
Merry Christmas.
Comments
Although it's certainly not your main theme here, I especially appreciate your wry look at the whole hate crimes push lately. I concur that all murder is murder and should be punished, no matter the motivation.
Merry Christmas, by the way!