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GoogleThat's the question I asked myself the other night as I watched the new Gap holiday commercial during a late night episode of Friends.
From the opening line of the 30-second advertisement, which the actors shout in cheerleader-esque excitement, "2-4-6-8, tis the time to liberate!" to the closing line of the chant, I found myself literally yelling at the TV, "Just say, 'Merry Christmas!'"
That commercial got me thinking, but not about buying my next outfit at the Gap.
Lately it seems that our society is completely wrapped up in keeping everyone happy. Our government leaders have played a huge role in leading by example as they ensure we are extremely careful not to offend any of the people groups living in America.
We cannot call the terrorists who attacked us on September 11, "Muslims," despite the fact that Islam is (was?) their religion.
We cannot allow racial profiling at airports or other public places as a simple safety measure even though the only white male anyone can recall offhand that committed a terrorist act was Timothy McVeigh in 1995 and we executed him in 2001.
The same government that inhibits us in protecting ourselves against radical Islam also encourages us to wish our family, friends and co-workers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."
We write "Seasons Greetings" on our Christmas - I mean, holiday - cards so we do not leave out any one specific holiday or people group.
I know what you're thinking right now. This is a sports column - why is she getting so political?
Because this political idea that offending any one person in the slightest is worse than committing any of the seven deadly sins has descended to the level of high school athletics.
Think about it.
People get mad when every kid doesn't make the team. They get mad when every kid doesn't get playing time on that team. And then they get mad when that team loses.
And you wonder why its difficult to find quality coaches.
But coaches feelings aside, our society is now so concerned with 'ruining' the life of a teenager, that we are forced to start at the youngest possible age with the concept of 'equal treatment'.
Every child must receive the same amount of attention from his or her teacher, or a claim will be filed that the teacher 'favors' one child over another.
Every member of the junior high basketball team better get the same number of minutes on the court, or the coach will deal with a whiny parent. (The kid could probably care less if someone got to play 15 seconds longer than he did.)
Venture back a few years with me. Now, I wasn't alive yet, but I have heard stories from my parents, aunts, uncles and the like about life in "the good ol' days."
* When a kid fell off his bike, scraped his knee and was not immediately rushed to the emergency room.
* When a talkative little girl in kindergarten was simply a talkative little girl - she got punished, not medicated.
* When only the best 10 players made the basketball team and everyone else got cut.
By forgetting simple history, we have forgotten one of the most commonly used clichés: "Life's not fair."
Because, guess what, life isn't fair.
I wasn't the homecoming queen, the star of the basketball team or the valedictorian.
A journalism professor during my freshman year of college told me that I didn't have a future as a journalist.
And I'm still alive.
I get up every morning (or afternoon), take a shower and live my life.
If anything, being told "You won't succeed" was the best thing for me. I was so angry that my professor could tell me something so harsh when I was just a freshman in college that I worked by butt off to prove him wrong.
And look at me now. The Le Mars Daily Sentinel is definitely a far cry from Sports Illustrated, but when I wake up every day, I'm a journalist. I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else.
I don't really understand the urgent need to please everyone. I'll say "Merry Christmas" to whomever I please, I'll call the terrorists who attacked on 9/11 Muslims and I will not complain if (someday) my kid doesn't make the varsity team.
I'll simply tell the story of when my professor told me I couldn't make it and hope that my kid is as determined as I am.
And if he's not, so what? The world will not come to an end.
Unless my kid is a Vikings fan.
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please 
Absolutely one of the best articles I've ever read and ditto to everything you pointed out in the article! To hell with all the political correctness we have to deal with in our lives. It's definitely part of the problem and not part of a solution! MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!
Thank you for pointing out that we're crazy. :)
Merry Christmas.
Loved your comments!! We, as a nation, have become WAY too tolerant. We should be able to call things what they are. We shouldn't be German-Americans, etc, but just Americans! We shouldn't allow things just because it won't offend someone. Let's get tough and say what we mean!
MERRY CHRISTMAS - CHRIST WAS BORN TO SAVE THE WORLD!!
Love, Mom
Religion/sports comparison: There are many people who root for each NFL team, there are many people who believe in all sorts of different religions. Wouldn't you find it, at the very least, annoying/unnecessary if someone who rooted for a different team than you felt the need to say "Go Vikings!" when greeting you?
To my talented daughter AMEN!!
To Steichen, it was called Christmas before it was called anything else.
That's not even close to being the point. To a very high percentage of the world Christmas has no relevance. It's a holiday for people who believe Jesus was the son of God. So explain to me again why non-christians should be greeted with "Merry Christmas". Thinking those who disagree with you should just give in and celebrate your holiday is the real intolerance.
Steichen - The problem I have is that America is a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles and many in our country have forgotten that, thus the "Seasons Greetings" rather than "Merry Christmas." If I were in an Islamic nation, I would understand that the natural comment this time of year would involve Kwanzaa. However, since we live in a Christian nation, Merry Christmas should be completely acceptable.
And to my parents - Thank you for your support, but please try to limit the gushing :)
The reason we don't call them "Muslims", is because it is a meaningless reference. When a student shoots up a school, or a person shoots up an office, health club, or their own family, or someone bombs an abortion clinic, we don't identify them as Christians every time we mention them.
The reason politicians and commercials use politically correct terms is because they are being polite in realizing their audience is composed of more than just Christians. Whether you like it or not, we don't have a national religion in this country.
I would think, as a Christian, you would have a much better argument against the commercialization of Christmas all together.
I would agree with your comment about society ruining the lives of teenagers. However, it is funny to note, those same people that talk about the good ol' days are the ones in the majority age group of this country. They are the ones raising kids in these superficial molds and they are the ones who have elected horrible presidents ever since I was born 25 years ago.
The people of this country have no one to blame but themselves. I think sometimes you forget, you are the government.
I am appalled by your ignorance, Ms. Kroenze. It is people who think and speak like you who give our country a negative name. There really are not words for how deeply this offends and hurts me to read. But I suppose you do not care if you offend me or anyone else for that matter. Good job. And may you never have to experience the world--or our country-- from a place other than your white Christian privilege. Happiest Holidays to you.
This saddens me deeply! around the 17 hundreds this counrty was founded by some settlers and I believe they believed in Christ.Now history tells us that our founding fathers who started this nation also believed in Christ. And when they made the Constitution I believed they had talked about God in there. Now our dollar has IN GOD WE TRUST right. So if this country was founded by men who believed in Christ shoundn't we have the right to Celebrate Jesus birth they way we want to! This Nation was founded upon him I believe! If you are not a Christain then you do not have to celebrate Christmas or Easter or anythings that has to do with God but we as Christian want to celebrate our Lord Saviors Birthday and his death.
The United States is not a christian nation. We have no national religion. Most of the founding fathers were Deists.
Absolutely awful concept of an article. All of your points are moot, especially the highschool and junior high sports analogies and that fact that a GAP commercial upset you this much then that is in fact sad.
The reason why GAP didn't just say Merry Christmas is because they are advertising to America (and even other countries) as a whole. Not just one ethnicity. If they said Merry Christmas and excluded other beliefs then someone (believe it or not people do get offended) they would lose a lot of business. For all we know the owner of GAP/Old Navy/Banana Republic could be Jewish.
As for the sports analogies every kid in jr high should get fair minutes. Jr High sports is not about winning, it's about instituting the game and allowing kids to get a feel of the rules and competition. If my kid got significantly less time in a jr high game than another kid I would be upset too. Why should my kid be denied a chance to develop skills in a live game environment because his 7th grade skills aren't as good as a taller kids 7th grade skills?
As for high school, yes it is more competitive, but only at the varsity level should skill level determine the amount of playing time.
One thing I do agree is that America has become more tolerant than it has but is that necessarily a bad thing? It's easy to hate on people saying Happy Holidays when you're in the majority. Maybe I as a Jew may be offended by this article. Only in LeMars, Iowa could this article be even printed because this would be company suicide anywhere with any type of diversity.
I believe that George Washington was episcopalian
and can anyone say what our dollars say?
Kwanzaa is NOT, and has never been, a Muslim holiday. It began in the United States as a way of honoring African culture.
Steichen: You are exactly right we no longer are a Christian Nation. We were at one time a God Fearing nation. We were a religious nation that used the word God on and in a variety of forms, pledges, songs and oaths. We now have become a nation where the secular worlds beliefs, views, and idealisms are winning by legal measures and lawsuits. And the hypocricy of it all is that these same people that want the word "GOD" stricken from all possible areas of the US have to go into court rooms and under oath have to use the word "GOD". As far as the analogy of saying Merry Christmas and it having to do with sports you missed the point as well steichen. It was the concept of equal treatment in sports and if that belief or concept is true than we should all have and believe in Christmas. The point of playing the right players has come up in the past and this year in football for sure.
Excellent article Bethany. One of the best I have read in a very long time. I think you are a great addition to the Sentinel staff and enjoy reading your work. Thanks!
Point well taken Bethany. While the United States is not a theocracy, the people that are complaining that "Merry Christmas" is forcing religion on them, have received inumerable benefits from living in a country founded on Christocentric values. Is it a coincidence that our country finds itself struggling as our nation attempts to pull away from those values?
I am late to the table on this one, but here I go anyway. While I abhor the sentiment of this blog, I defend the right of the author to write it. It is likely that her thoughts are shared by many people throughout our country. The beauty of our country is that the very people who are continually invoked as our Christian founding fathers did a lot to ensure that the rule of law was the guiding principal of our society. Laws that strive to promote justice and equality for all.
We have also have freedom of speech, which is essential for a free society. It can be frustrating when you face opinion with which you do not agree, but that is the point. We can all weigh in and express our thoughts and confront ideas whenever we are moved to do so. As imperfect as this country is at times, it is these founding principals that make it all work.
I am a Christian, and I am always a little baffled by the behavior and ideas of some of my fellow disciples. For me, my faith is about inspecting my own life, not raising myself up or pointing out the failures of others. It is about humility, love and compassion...this is how I understand my faith.
I think it is a weak argument to say that no one can recall many white males(I assume you mean Christian, as well) who have committed acts of terrorism. Since the before the crusades.."white males" and Christians have been has cruel and inhumane to each other as any other race. It really is a mistake to identify terrorist acts with a religion. The Klu Klux Klan claims to be a Christian organization, but I believe most Christians would disagree.
Finally, I can't completely agree with the cut and paste of the popular "Good old days" rant. The truth is there are good and bad things about the past and present. Overall, the "good old days" had some pretty awful things. Discrimination, which I am old enough to have seen first hand. It is ugly to see. There is a hint of racism in this blog and it is awful. We had shorter life spans due to disease, illness and ignorance about health isues in general. The idea of the "good old days" is a fun and romantic concept, but not very accurate.
The key to tolerance and understanding is education. Not just in the classroom, but through travel and communication with those people in this world who hold different views and cultures from our own. Ignorance is an insidious thing and if you are a Christian and believe in the Devil, you can bet he loves ignorance. It is one of his greatest tools to work evil on earth.
Finally, I am pretty sure "Kwanzaa" is a holiday created in America to celebrate African American culture. When you travel to areas in this world with large populations of Islamic people, I would advise against shouting "Merry Kwanzaa!". You might just be somewhere that does not enjoy the same freedom of speech as we do in America.
I was shopping at a store the other day and as I left, someone wished me "Happy Holidays". I was immediately offended and incensed. How could I be sure that MY CHRISTMAS WAS IN THAT LIST OF HOLIDAYS??!!??!! So I got all up in their face and said NO!!! MY HOLIDAY ONLY! MY HOLIDAY! CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!! BABY JESUS UNDER THE MISTLETOE WITH SANTA AND RUDOLPH!!!
Because I didn't want them infringing on my rights to celebrate my holiday. I too, wish for the good old days when we Puritans enforced our religious celebrations and burned witches.
All joking aside...
You know, this "war on Christmas" B.S. is ridiculous. You would have a point if there was an effort to say something like "Happy Holidays except for Christmas". Then you would have a point. But there isn't.
We're all just going to have to accept the fact that there are Jews and Muslims and others in society who also celebrate at this time and that businesses and elected leaders want to wish them a happy holiday as well. Nobody is infringing on your Christmas.
And while we're fretting about the lack of religious totalitarianism surrounding the December holiday season; there is a very real war on Christmas that most of us are waging: It's called commercialism and consumerism. I think most of us put forth more effort and thought regarding seasonal sales the latest gift fad instead of focusing on the birth of Jesus and time with our families.
Happy Festivus.