We all know I'm a blog hopper. I jump from one blog to another reading people's lives and thoughts. I roll my eyes, I laugh out loud, I even forward stuff to Rick and some of my other cyber friends so they can join in on the fun. During this past week I've noticed a pattern and it's driving me crazy...almost as much as e-mail forwards.
Quit being offended by the use of Happy Holidays!
Are you people serious? I can't even begin to describe how annoyed I get when I hear about Christmas being under attack because people don't wish you a Merry Christmas when you buy your groceries at the store or because there's a menorah next to the nativity at city hall. Last time I checked there is more than one holiday during this time of year. Ever heard of Hanukkah? Kwanzaa? New Years Day ring a bell? Happy Holidays is an all encompassing term used to lump everything into one, not to take away your right, or mine, to celebrate the birth of your/my Savior. And I promise if you say it or hear it, it won't make you any less of a Christian or any more of a socialist.
Taking offense when offense is not intended isn't the most Christlike thing. I don't think baby Jesus, or the grown up one for that matter, would approve of the lack of brotherly love.
13 comments:
AMEN!!!!
s for validating me on this one. I was starting to think that no one in the world agreed with me on this issue.
I agree wholeheartedly about just being Christlike.
THANKS- not s for validating me! LOL
Well, JOY TO YOU!!!!
tee hee.
It does go both ways doesn't it. My sister and I were talking about just this last ngiht and it's hard to tell someone you wish them well for both Christmas and New Years at the same time unless you just sum it up...but I'm also sincerely T.O.'d whenever people insist upon Happy Holidays or they get offended. This in considerance of my neighbors who continue to leave their Obama/Biden sign up in a relatively Conservative neighborhood. I'm going to say that I'm now annoyed by it. It's fine if you want to do it during election time, even a month after...ok, I guess..but come on, we're way past that and it just kills my Christmas feeling when I leave the house and visually run smack dab into it. We must have consideration for each other from all fronts...geez!
Amen sista!!!
See Liz, I don't see a sign on a front lawn as any different from a CTR ring or a bumper sticker proclaiming LDS status. Why is it that people are so afraid of differences?
The only people I ever see getting offended are the "Christians" and I'm still trying to figure out why it is so disturbing. And don't even get me started on this Butters guy up in Utah. What a nut job.
I think we definitely all have our own pet peeves and I'm NO fan of bumper stickers (don't get me started there either) - but I do get more than annoyed when people do things out of spite. When you live in a predominately conservative community and you choose to act out of the 'norm' purposefully (tell me how many of your neighbors still display election signs?) - what purpose does it serve? They do it to annoy the rest of us who didn't vote the way they did. I had no problem with it (well, other than the fact that I view yard signs, bumper stickers, and similar ostentatiously visible demonstrations of ones views- as distasteful) until now. Can we replace it with some nice hoiday decorations or something. Tis the season and all. I'm not asking to change anyone's beliefs and I could care less what anyone believes as long as it doesn't propogate killing or remove the rights of others - I'm saying that it is counter-productive for people to purposefully do things to shove the nose of others in their beliefs. By going so far past the election with the election sign- what message are they trying to send in the conservative neighborhood THEY chose to live in? People can wear their religious garb, jewelry, symbols of faith- that's fine but I will always get annoyed with demonstrations like that. I'm all for diversity and letting others celebrate their rights, but setting a yard sign out past its prime for reasons to annoy and shove noses into it (how else could it be construed?)is just plain tacky.
As far as Buttars goes- he wasn't asking to have laws passed to force people to do one thing, he was trying (in his misguided way) to regain some focus back on our values. It's the pc police who throw tizzy's over things like that- also annoying.
It's just like a popular radio talk show host was sying on his program the other day- why all the hoopla and attention to those who want to focus on one extreme or another (only Merry Christmases will suffice or only Happy Holidays). What a dumb thing to fight over- let's just get back to enjoying what's left of the holidays (aside from the thunder the economy and dumb politics are stealing from them). The time has passed for yard signs to be passe- just take the darn thing down (it's not like I'm putting a BOM on a stick in my front yard- it's just tacky - yard signs and CTR rings are just not the same thing - hence why many neighborhoods adopt 'covenants'. life is full of shades of gray- some things are more annoying than others and this is one of them...well, for me anyway).
It may be mostly Christians who are up in arms over this issue, which is a dumb issue to being with, but this is a Christian nation. We were founded by Christians and the population is overwhelmingly Christian - so it makes sense that it is Christians who are up in arms about this. The nation was founded to accept everyone into it- the argument got started when some dumb person decided it was not pc to say Merry Christmas anymore and thinks we should be a nation of blandness in order to accommodate all of its diverse citizens. No more Christmas trees, no more celebrating the life of Jesus Christ, by those who created this greatest nation for others to seek refuge from. What a bunch of self-loathers we're becoming - afraid to stand up for our values just in case they might in some miniscule way infringe upon those of others. This issue is not about accepting diversity - but rather people trying to force their pc agenda on everyone else - the exact opposite of allowing others to worhip as they choose (if Kwanza or Hannukah were as prevalent it would receive the same attention). We're not attempting to eradicate other religions or force Christianity upon anyone- this issue is about standing up for our right to celebrate our religion as well- again, just because it is the majority religion and has the most supporters doesn't make it any less worthy or that it should shirk the limelight because some say it should. Another lesson in being defeatist and self-loathing for no other reason than being the majority (who seeks to constantly do good on the behalf of all and wants the best for everyone BTW) - there's always some reparation to be made and dues to be paid to those who are undeserving yet demanding of them. Just more attempts to cancel Christianity/popular religion by slowly weeding irrelevant issues into the fabric of our mentality until they make sense and what we once knew to be true and good no longer makes sense. I call it 'PC'ing our values away'.
So while you are right that there is a greater issue here than meets the eye- it's not that Christians are being sore losers and seeking to force everyone to their agenda- quite the opposite actually. Christians are just seeking to maintain their rights to celebrate and have something good and decent in their lives to be happy about at least once a year.
Whoa sorry that was so long- I'm waiting for the baby to wake up from his nap and in need of some adult conversation apparently. :)
Isn't it interesting how two completely different opinions can come from the same thing?
I just find it ironic in the quest for Christians to maintain their moral values by celebrating their very own hoiday, they seem somehow hell bent on making everyone else recongize and accept it to be the only publically acknowledged holiday during this time of year.
Last time I checked Jewish tradition is celebrated as well as Kwanza as well as whatever anyone else wants to celebrate, within legal bounds. Christians are just the overwhelming majority. I'm personally not pushing my holiday'ness on anyone else and do not feel like anyone is doing that to me- it's just the extremists who are focused on having it one way or the other. The rest of us, also the majority, are content to live our lives the way we see fit and allow our fellow man to do so as well. Do the other religions or groups celebrate their religion so visually is maybe the thing that makes people think only Christianity gets any attention. Also, it's the Christian business owners who are putting up the decorations- you can choose not to do business with them if you wish. But, like my neighbors with the yard sign, it's up whether we like it or not in our faces. The rights of living in a free country let us do this- but I don't see how we are preventing others from recognizing and celebrating their holidays as they seem fit. My husband's Christian-led business only allows days off for celebrating one day for the holidays and then again for New Years (is New Years faith based?)- you can take more time off if you wish to celebrate your own holiday, but that comes from your saved 'freebie' days - nothiing special allowed depending on religious affiliations and there's no outcry there. On my calendar I see many varying religious celebration days marked as well as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years. Where is the discrimination or hell bent force? It's just the majority of people who are celebrating that makes it a big thing. In outher religions when they get together in a big group it would seem to an outsider to be the same thing I would think?
I think the problem is in people's attempts to "put the Christ back in Christmas", it's actually backfired and instead this holiday has become a political measuring device, used to determine how Christian you really are.
It's all very sad.
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