Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?

We have become entirely too sensitive as a nation. We have become so politically correct that we are robbing individuals of their freedom to express themselves freely. Recent taboos have gone so far as to make it socially unacceptable for someone to say "Merry Christmas" to someone that may not be a Christian. So in order to circumvent the socially awkward moment, we are informed it is more appropriate to say "Happy Holidays" to respect others that may not celebrate Christmas. The same trend is true across the nation. We are so afraid of offending people that we walk on eggshells constantly, worried that a comment taken out of context might offend someone of a different religion or that something we say might offend a certain nationality. The trend has gotten so out of hand that we have people trying to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency, ban the Pledge of Allegiance, and as already mentioned trying to remove the Christian basis out of the holiday of Christmas. Just recently, Florida Gulf Coast University banned the use of Christmas decorations by University employees.


Let me make a distinction between hate speech and freedom of speech. Hate speech is not considered protected speech under ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. This means that spewing hate speech and ethnic slurs are outside of what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about a right to speak freely and express ideas that make one unique and individual and are not intended to offend someone else. The problem is that courts and activists feel that ‘not intending to offend someone’ is not a stringent enough doctrine to protect everyone and they would rather everything be made bland and generic. Intentions, or lack thereof, are rarely regarded in these cases, but rather the main concern is protecting dissenters and the minority from being exposed to beliefs and practices contrary to their own. The last time I checked, this exposure was called diversity; the same diversity that the same activists demand. They argue their rights guarantee them equality and protect their "different" point of view and then argue from the other side of their mouth that when others exercise these same guaranteed rights, they are the victim of opinions and beliefs that are contrary to their own. Essentially, they want their cake and they want to eat it to.

What exposure is it that these individuals feel is so demeaning and uncomfortable? Seeing a Christmas tree or a sign that says "Merry Christmas"? How long will it be until these people request the removal of crosses or crucifixes that are displayed at the top of steeples on our churches because the sight makes them uncomfortable?

I understand that the government cannot respect and establishment of religion, but at the same time this principle does not mean an institution (governmental or quasi-governmental) should feel it necessary to ban any kind of celebration or anything that identifies a unique people, regardless of their majority status. The reason why we have institutions that like to ban Christmas celebrations and decorations is because of the associated legal liability. Let’s face it, lawsuits are all the rage now when you want to get what you want or just want a little cash for your "troubles". Institutions allow individuals to exploit them because of some of the faulty rulings from the Supreme Court or because the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) foams at the mouth for these types of cases to help protect the minority by making everyone worse off (or at least uncomfortable). So because we have a few individuals that have managed to win their cases and "secure their rights", at the same time the rights of others have been limited. This has had a chilling effect on other institutions to heavily regulate the rights of others to avoid a lawsuit. And it’s all comes back to having just a few touchy individuals that ruin it for the rest of us.

I remember one particular job that I had when I was in college where we were not allowed to wish patrons a Merry Christmas without receiving disciplinary action. We could wish them ‘Happy Holidays’ instead (a more generic term). Considering how timid the organization is, I was surprised to learn that we could wish patrons a Happy New Year (considering the Chinese New Year is much later than the American). It pained me to have to be so politically correct and personally I found it a great way to rob our staff of any Christmas Spirit we had.

Thank you, ACLU for helping to destroy the liberties of the many in favor of the few. Thank you to those that are so up in arms over a Christmas tree or a few signs that they decide they should ruin the party for everyone else. I think personally, these people that are so easily offended need to develop a thicker skin or just lighten up.

So will I be wishing people Happy Holidays this year? Probably not. For the most part, strangers that I see this holiday season will get the typical Merry Christmas I give in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and a Happy New Year between Christmas and January 1st. I do not like saying Happy Holidays based on principle and due to the generic nature of the sentiment. Let’s all lighten up and to those that celebrate it, have a Merry Christmas!