How to Save the Country

People always wonder what they can do as “little” people without power to make our country better. The answer: Change the little things first. Most people who are worried about the direction of our country think that all the battles are big ones. But we cannot win any of the big ones if we keep losing the small ones.

Here’s one. We are again faced with the mind-numbing delusion of people everywhere saying “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” Nothing is quite as narcissistic as the policy that because there are non-Christian shoppers, a store may not say “Merry Christmas," and because there are non-Christian employees at a company, its Christmas party may not be called one. Who do 5 percent of the shoppers and employees think they are that they feel empowered to demand that the other 95 percent not celebrate their party with the name that they want, or receive a greeting that is appropriate to the occasion – shopping for CHRISTMAS gifts. After all, gift-giving is a practice deeply rooted in the meaning of Christmas.

“Ah, yes, but we want to be inclusive,” “sensitive” people will say. But, dear Mr. or Mrs. Sensitivity, how is inviting a Jew who does not celebrate Christmas, to the company's Christmas party not inclusive? Isn't inviting that person by definition inclusive? And if it isn't, perhaps to be really inclusive, given that Jews keep kosher, you'll have to refrain from serving shellfish or pork products. And you better not serve coffee or any other caffeinated products because of the Mormons. In fact, to be really inclusive, you better drop the word “holiday” altogether. Jehovah’s Witnesses are forbidden from celebrating holidays. So maybe the sensitivity crowd should just call it a “party.” But even that might not be inclusive enough. What about those who are forbidden to party (certain fundamentalists and Jews who are in mourning)? For their sakes, let's not even call it a party.

I have always believed that unless the majority is engaged in evil, you honor their wishes. If a religious or non-religious minority member can't abide the term “Christmas,” it is entirely their problem, not the majority's. Demanding that the vast majority of one's fellow workers or shoppers deny the holiday they all celebrate just to make a few people more comfortable is morally indefensible. It is also dishonest. What December holiday is it, after all, if not Christmas? The winter solstice? Martin Van Buren's birthday? Constitution Day in Uzbekistan?

Fight back calmly and politely. But fight back. Do not be deterred by being a called a bigot. Wanting a Christmas party or a store clerk to say “Merry Christmas” hardly makes you a bigot. It is the person who wants “Christmas” dropped who is the bigot. Furthermore, few non-Christians actually object. The vast majority of Jews, whether or not they celebrate Hanukah (which is a very American Jewish holiday), at least honor Christmas, as do the vast majority of blacks, whether or not they celebrate Kwanza. After all, most American blacks are Christians, and Kwanza is a holiday invented in the sixties. And ask why “Happy Halloween” is acceptable. That will reveal a big American secret: Conservatives (such as Christians who do not celebrate Halloween) are usually far more tolerant of things they disagree with than their opponents are. Do not be intimidated by anti-Christian animosity that masquerades as “sensitivity” or “inclusiveness.” Merry Christmas friends.