Is That Legal?

Well, everywhere I went where genuine Spirit and religiosity prevailed, "Merry Christmas" went over just fine (see, e.g. Midnight Mass).

Unfortunately, in the everyday world, the Christian Taliban's war on civility and on the separation of Church and State means that my friends, remote aquaintances, work-mates and others are FORCED to say "Happy Holidays" in order to avoid the impression that they support the War on the War on Christmas (or CWII) by the C-Taliban.

BTW, for the C-Taliban, my Church is the real Church - Rome, want some of my ecclesiastical rule? Probably not. Also, the C-Taliban needs to explain, why if Christmas is so necessary to "Real" Americans, the Pilgrims denouced the celebration of Christmas and fined anyone found celebrating the ritual.

I've never been exposed to a first hand case of people being "forced" to refrain from saying Merry Christmas. My impression has always been that it's more like peer pressure - people are afraid of being considered insensitive and exclusionary if they say "Merry Christmas" and they resent being made to feel that way.

BFD, you say. Jews, atheists and muslims always feel that way in this country. Perhaps - but there *are* ways around the problem that don't involve making anyone feel excluded or devalued.

Here's something that happened to me: I ran into (nearly literally) a bustling herd of energetic and very happy small black children (from that statement you may assume that none of those words apply to me personally).

Anyway, enjoying their energy and happiness I wished them a Merry Christmas and the oldest - a little girl of perhaps 8 or 9 said "actually we don't celebrate christmas."

"Oh!" I thought to myself, "I've committed a faux pas. They must be muslims." So, I said, "what holidays do you celebrate then?"

"Actually, we don't celebrate any holidays."

Truly a "teachable moment" - for me. I told her that that was cool and we (as a group) proceeded to discuss what they had been doing where they were going, what was for dinner and whether big brother *really* meant to kick baby brother in the shin. Glancing around, I saw Dad - who was checking me out to make sure I was okay, we smiled and shook hands and parted ways - and no one was left feeling slighted or insulted or excluded.

All it takes is a little time and care.

I have certainly never been corrected. This "war" is so funny. Yesterday I visited a park in Pineville, NC, where a giant "Merry Christmas" was written out in green garland on the city park building. I thought about sending a picture of it to O'Reily :) My sister's kid attends public school in South Carolina, and Santa Claus came to visit the kids before they got out on break. Maybe the "war" is being fought in another part of the country :)

I just got back from a population ~2300 town in Tennessee, which features exactly two black households (and some seasonal mexicans, at harvest times and at other useful points). Otherwise white Christians are the rule, aside from some hippy types that live in the hills.

I grew up in this town. I went to church there, and my mother is now on the town board.

"Happy holidays" happened, but "Merry Christmas" was aplenty at all of the shops I visited. Seems to me that this is all... perhaps manufactured is the word.

But as to what do I know, I'm now a New Yorker, I must be tainted. I don't even know how to respond to a terrorist attack, apparently, and need to be instructed on that topic, even if I was in one of the towers when it was struck. I dutifully look to Mr. O'Reilly to tell me what to do.

Too bad that I, personally, am a secular humanist of sorts, and who also wishes people Merry Christmas as a default, but not when it doesn't make sense (what, you're going to say that to the Mussars that rent to me in my place?). I'm confused. Won't O'Reilly save me? I think he should campaign for a Uniform Christian Greeting Code. INcoraging CHRISTian Negotiation Obvservation and Notice, or INCHRISTNOW act.I suppose that McCain will kill the butt plug provision.