Within the past few years, the left has made religion of all things a politically correct subject. No longer are we able to let our children recite the Pledge of Allegiance because of the word “God”. For the same reason, some schools are pulling historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence. Even in everyday conversation, religion has become taboo. For years now television stations, radio and print media have been using weak substitutes to replace the good old fashioned “Merry Christmas”. Among the copouts are “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays”.Just the other day, driving in the car, the people on the radio station I was listening to were discussing how they were going to spend Christmas. After the conversation was over, one of the DJ’s said “well I hope you guys have a happy holiday”. I don’t have a problem with his gesture, but would it kill him to say “Merry Christmas”. I even say “Merry Christmas” to people who I know don’t celebrate it. I still want them to be merry on Christmas, no matter what their religion is, even if they have no religious belief.
I guess the big problem that I have with this watering down of Christmas and religion in general is the argument used by the left to justify it. They whine about the separation of church and state, which has become such a catchy phrase that people don’t even realize it’s entirely fictional. Well unless you’re talking about the objective of the left when it comes to religion.
They get their argument from the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, specifically the first part that says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” If these people knew anything about our country’s history, they would know that some of the first people to flee Europe were people who were forced to practice a religion other than their own. That is why this clause is in there. It is so that the government, specifically Congress, cannot establish a national religion. Learning about the Declaration of Independence in a public school, despite it’s mention of God in no way establishes a national religion that everyone has to practice. Alexander Hamilton wrote a comparison between the President of the United States and the King of England in Federalist Paper No. 69 “The Real Character of the Executive”. In it he says “The one has no particle of spiritual jurisdiction; the other is the supreme head and governor of the national church!” This is what they were trying to protect against in the First Amendment. They had no intention of keeping public officials and other state employees (teachers, etc.) from mentioning religion.
When I was in elementary school, we put on a holiday concert, where all the students sang holiday songs. Now I use the term “holiday” here because I’m referring to Christmas and Chanukah. Coming from a town that has a large Jewish population, we sang both types of songs despite the differences in our religions, and no students or parents complained about it. No one forced me to go to the local temple and celebrate Chanukah, just like no one forced any of the Jewish kids to go to church and celebrate Christmas. We all just sang and had a good time.
And on that note, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a Happy New Year.
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