Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays

For the record, though I'm not really a rule abiding one, I am Catholic, so this blog is a God Bless America / Merry Christmas zone.

However, what's starting to drive me nuts are the people who HAVE to say "Merry Christmas" just to make the point that they should be able to say "Merry Christmas." Here you have two words that are meant to be the epitome of peace and joy all over the world becoming political statements against a politically correct world. Yes, we bend over backwards too far to accommodate everyone, and in the end, we accommodate no one. And separation of church and state is an absurd reason to ban words, especially if you are in a community that has a high percentage of Christians. But if you're saying, "Merry Christmas," it should be in the spirit of what those words are meant to mean - not to rub freedom of speech in people's noses.

The problem with allowing people to express what they feel, whether it be "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Chanukah" or the celebration of Diwali is that people also have to agree to a suspension of being offended. Whether you are deeply religious or you are not religious, everyone has strong beliefs, feelings and emotions. We celebrate our families and friends and maybe a higher power or something greater than ourselves.

So while that's true, we also need to get along with each other in a society. And being that the USA is a country that prides itself on combining different cultures together, part of that is the appreciation that some groups of people celebrate things that others don't. So, if you see a group of people "doing their thing" and your first instinct is to maybe get offended, please consider taking a step back instead and trying to learn about what other people do and what their traditions are.

During this holiday season, let's focus on being nice to each other, showing tolerance and eating too much pie. Unless you're offended by pie, in which case, I give up. I mean, really. Who is offended by pie?