Do you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Ah...the great debate at the end of the year, at least for businesses. Each year, we hear of another business mandating that it's employees say one or the other. The endless dialog about not wanting to offend anyone with wishing them a Merry Christmas if they are not Christians is, well, a bit absurd.
If you are a Christian, would you be offended if a Jew said "Happy Hanukkah?" These are just greetings, warm wishes. So, why do we get all bent out of shape over them?
If the United States is a country of religious freedom, then why can't we express our religious freedom in our holiday greetings? If we are Christians, what is the harm in saying "Merry Christmas?" The argument that this greeting is a statement about denying other religions or ideologies is just not true. Isn't religious freedom not having to hide your religious convictions?
In fact, is this really even a problem for the average citizen? Outside of the business world, U.S. citizens greet each other with "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Kwanzaa," and "Happy Holidays." I have yet to see someone offended by these greetings, outside of business, even if their religion was not a match to the greeting being offered.
Why not let the employee decide what and if they want to extend a specific greeting to customers. Has this country gotten so enmeshed in legal nonsense that we have to walk on egg shells even when we speak? If someone at Walmart says "Merry Christmas" to you, say "thanks." It's not an overall statement about the religiousness of Walmart. It's simply one person telling another to have a joyous day.
So, let's just get over it already and enjoy our religious freedoms even around the holidays.
No comments:
Post a Comment