But this time it wasn’t mine. Well, okay, it reminded me a lot of mine, but this time it wasn’t me, I swear. This was an article from Wednesday’s Iowa Falls Times-Citizen, or rather, it was a letter to the editor of that newspaper. Here is what Jory Rapp of Alden had to say:
It saddens me, as well as angers me, to think that it has become so “politically incorrect” to say, “Merry Christmas.” We are so afraid of offending someone for one reason or another that stores won’t put Merry Christmas in their ads, school concerts are called “winter concerts,” and such ridiculous rot as that. It seems like it’s wrong to offend everyone else; everyone, that is, except for the Christians.
If memory serves me right, wasn’t our country founded on Christian beliefs, values, and morals? We trusted in God to establish, guide, and bless our country, yet now we spit in His face and are outraged at having Him be part of our country and its government. Then we have the audacity to moan at the shape our country is in and ask why God allows certain things to happen. If we would look to the Bible and the history of the Israelites, we would see what happens when people turn their backs on God, when they choose to worship other gods and idols. We are headed down that path and if we continue to kick God out of everything, one day we will be standing in the midst of a disaster asking, “Where are you, God?” and His answer will be, “You didn’t want me around, so I left.”
This Christmas season, I will remind my children that we celebrate because God chose to send His Son to this earth as a baby to one day be the Savior of all mankind and that we are to share that gift with others. I wish everyone a very blessed and “Merry Christmas.”
I thought this was very well written and I pretty well agree with it. If Ben Stein can stick up for “Merry Christmas” even though as a Jew, he doesn’t celebrate it, why can’t the rest of us? “Season’s Greetings” has got to be about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. The holiday is Christmas. If you have a problem with that, go back to wherever you came from. Or celebrate Festivus.
And now, on to snarkier matters…
It appears that the Idiot Brigade is back in full force. I swear I got stuck behind every idiot driver in Grundy County Wednesday. I was nearly hit by someone who decided to switch lanes without making sure there was no oncoming traffic and then again by someone who decided to take his half out of the middle while I was trying to pass him. If he’d come any further into the left lane, he could have knocked me right off the road. And then yesterday I was nearly run over by some idiot at a stop sign who was watching around the corner instead of right in front of him, where I happened to be walking. Jerks. What is it about winter that brings out the idiot in people?
On a more positive note, thank God it’s Friday! I am so looking forward to the weekend. No getting up for work and struggling to make it through the day, no idiots to deal with on the road because I fully intend to stay home and be exceedingly lazy, nothing but chick flicks and romance novels. Oh, and Christmas present wrapping. And Christmas card writing. And maybe a little bit of 4-H paperwork. Woo! I love weekends!
Merry Christmas, y’all, and happy Friday!
(c) 2008. All rights reserved.
Suddenly they all died. The end. 
For the sake of discussion (because I think this is really interesting too, and you know I can never resist talking about this sorts of things): I certainly agree that often times trying to be PC takes things so far, and I wouldn’t be offended by someone saying “merry Christmas/Happy Hannukkuh/insert other holiday greeting here” if I didn’t celebrate it… but I don’t think it’s right for her to say that we should accept things because the country was founded on Christian values etc. That is (partly) true, yes. But not everyone is Christian. Tonnnnns of people are not, and their values and beliefs and morals are just as valid. I feel like an extremely reverent person but I fully believe in the separation of church and state. So accusing people like me of “spitting in the face of God” just because they don’t think religion should be part of government is way too extreme for me. That statement is more disrespectful to people like me than some of the stuff she seems to be protesting.
That said, I agree that the whole PC thing is taken way too far. Anyone who is actually offended because someone said “merry Christmas” to them… is ridiculous. 😉
Also– ugh, I live in fear of people walking across the road right in front of my while I’m driving, especially in icy winter. People are idiots.
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I’m inclined to agree with you about the whole “spitting in the face of God” thing; they definitely took that part a little bit too far, but for the most part, I agreed with them. I think it’s stupid that people are so afraid of offending each other that they won’t even say Merry Christmas anymore. But on the other hand, there are many people who believe differently and I don’t think they should be offended, either. I, too, am all for the separation of church and state, but I don’t think that the separation of church and state should extend to such things as what school concerts are called or whether or not we say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. So it has the word “God” in it. Big deal! Jews and Muslims both worship God, too, so I don’t see how that would be offensive to them. It is what it is; it’s not about God, it’s about our country. That’s the wonderful thing about our country, that we can have discussions like this on topics like this and…I forget what I was going to say next. The phone ringing made me lose my train of thought. 🙂
All that said, political correctness is a bunch of bull. I’m not for randomly offending people, but bending over backwards in order not to offend anyone is ridiculous and impossible.
And I wholeheartedly agree – people are idiots when it comes to driving in winter. Actually, people are idiots when it comes to driving, period. Especially in Marshalltown. 🙂
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I do find not saying the Pledge of Allegiance very odd. Not saying it at all seems extreme, but I realize doing something like taking out the words “under god” would cause an uproar. (Wasn’t it originally written without those words? Maybe I’m remembering this wrong.) At any rate, for me saying the words “under God” or “Christmas concert” wouldn’t be so much offensive as they would be sort of awkward… as I think it works under the assumption that I’m Christian (and maybe I am, and maybe I’m not, but I don’t like the assumption). Not as big a deal in small towns perhaps (although I think more people are non-Christian than some people want to believe), but in bigger cities where there are larger populations of people with differing beliefs… then I think it becomes more problematic.
At any rate I do sort of miss the simplicity of our younger school days when it was just the Christmas concert and that was that. You are right in that they’ll never satisfy everyone…
And really the thing is, soooo many people celebrate Christmas in a secular way. My family is Catholic (sort of non-practicing, but still) but our Christmas tends to be very secular. For good or for bad, Christmas has become about more than the Christian definition. Some might find that very unfortunate, some might find it a good thing… I dunno. ‘Tis tricky.
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You know, I really have no idea whether or not the Pledge of Allegiance was originally written without “under God.” It seems weird when you recite it in your head to not have those words in there because it messes with the flow, but maybe that’s just because we learned it by rote. It’s kind of like saying the Lord’s Prayer; there’s a certain rhythm to it that gets all messed up when you say it another way. For example, I learned it “…And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debters” instead of “…And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It feels weird to say it the other way. Maybe Presbyterians are just weird or something, but I’ve slipped several times since I’ve been going to church with Greg (who’s Catholic). He just laughs at me, but I had a little vindication when we went to my church and he said it the way he learned it. Not that any of that really matters and I don’t know why I even brought it up…
Incidentally, I think you’re right about there being more people in small towns who are non-Christian than some may want to believe. On the other hand, when you’re not sure what you believe, it sometimes seems like everyone in town is a Christian but you and that is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling (speaking from experience). Maybe maturity helps to take care of that, but who knows.
I’m with you on the evolution of Christmas. I know it’s supposed to be a celebration of Jesus’ birth and all that that means, but I have really come to believe that it’s more of a time to be with family and friends and to be mindful of what you have and thankful for it. I look forward to the holiday season all year long as the one time when I am able to get together with my extended family. This year will be radically different in that respect since my grandpa is gone now and my sister won’t be there (apparently her new boyfriend’s office Christmas party is more important) and since we will have Greg and Rachael to celebrate with us now, but at least that last one is a good change. ‘Tis tricky, indeed.
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That is indeed a bummer about the dynamic of your family Christmas changing.
But I’m glad you have Greg and Rachael to spread the love.
I understand what you mean about the vice versa of “not everyone in town is a Christian” also being true. If someone professes faith for something (whether its Christianity or not), there’s always the fear that someone is judging you. I also have a very good friend who is getting a Masters in Religious Studies right now, and she says that it is very rare for people in academia to be practicing Christians, so often times she feels very– what’s the word– ostracized by her department. Almost like you have to hide your beliefs to be taken seriously. This is in a Religious Studies program! What a crazy world.
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That is indeed crazy about your friend! Who’d have thunk it? When I went to Wartburg there were three girls on my floor (my roommate was one of them) that were religious studies majors, but all of them were very devout. And by very devout, I mean they ate, slept, and breathed it. At least two of them as far as I knew had every intention of becoming ministers of some kind, youth ministers if I remember correctly, but I don’t think either of them ever fulfilled that ambition. It’s weird how you can be so set on becoming something or doing something as your life’s ambition and then for whatever reason, you end up doing something completely different. ‘Tis a crazy world indeed.
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