In search of Christmas
"Illiterates or cowards." Some PC people have begun to argue that even "Jingle Bells" is a church-state no-no. Santa Claus, a totally secular figure, is controversial because he was originally based on St. Nicholas. Horrors . Then let's ban the word goodbye, which evolved from "God be with you." In Newport Beach, Calif., red and green lights came under fire because some sensitive types thought they were communicating a Christmas message. If so, one wag said, Newport Beach should scrap its traffic lights as well. Harold Johnson, attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, said, "Administrators who try to make their schools Christmas-free zones are either constitutional illiterates or cowards in the face of PC bullies, or pushing personal agendas that have no grounding in the law." Sounds right to me.
Jill Stewart, a California-based columnist, says her state's "intolerance toward Christmas is just another reason why Californians and residents of other blue states are viewed by the heartland crowd as hostile, godless types who can't stand regular folks." Stewart is not religious, but in protest against anti-Christmas campaigns, she says she will skip saying "Happy Holidays" at Christmas parties this year and just wish everyone "Merry Christmas."
Defiance of the PC police may be catching on. In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state "holiday tree" would be called a Christmas tree while he's in office. In Winnipeg, Canada, last year, columnist Tom Brodbeck wrote that he was surprised and pleased that the musical event at his daughter's school was a Christmas concert, not a "winter celebration" or an "international celebration of the holidays." It wasn't a "sunny solstice" or "dandy December" concert either, just a euphemism-free Christmas event. He thinks the word Christmas is slowly making a comeback. "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas again," he said. Let's wish.
Things are so bad that not only is the "C" word banned, "Jingle Bells" is a no-no.
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