I see on the news that a Governor from a state I won’t mention (but it rhymes with Rhode Island) thinks that we should now call it a HOLIDAY TREE. Are you kidding me? Hey ding-dong, we call it a Christmas Tree because it’s a DECORATION for Christmas! A HOLIDAY tree would be something you get for any holiday … c’mon kids, get in the car we’re going to cut down our Independence Day Tree! I think not Gov’ner!
Now before anyone jumps down my throat and argues the whole “separation of church and state” let me say this… On December 25th you don’t get your mail delivered, the state offices are closed and anything “governmental” is shut down. So you can take your “separation of church and state” argument and toss that right out the window. Yes, December 25th is the celebration of Baby Jesus’ birth, but from all of my Sunday school classes I learned Mary was visited by three wise men … nothing about a fat guy in a red suit with reindeers! Religion has been so far removed from the Christmas celebration; which in itself is disturbing to some people but I have to pick my battles here. What Santa and Rudolph have to do with the birth of Baby Jesus makes about as much sense to me as what a bunny hiding eggs has to do with celebrating his resurrection!
I went to high school in a predominately Jewish town, because of that we got all of the Jewish holidays off from school. Was it because the Jewish people wanted us to celebrate their days and conform to their religious beliefs? Nope, it was simple math … MOST of the students wouldn’t be in school due to the fact they were celebrating their Jewish holidays Sooooooo, they closed the schools! Was I offended as a non-Jewish person, being forced to take a day off for something that didn’t pertain to me? Uhm, NO … it was an extra day off people! When my Jewish friends would say to each other “Happy Hanukkah” did it make me uncomfortable? Nope… in fact I am sure I uttered those same exact words to many of my Jewish friends. To be honest I’m not even fully clear on the meaning behind Hanukkah, but why should that stop me from wishing my friends who did understand Hanukkah a happy one?
Now I am not saying it’s the Jewish people behind the “Holiday” tree thing … I don’t think my Christmas Tree offends any Jewish person nor does their Menorah offend me. No it’s not the religious people complaining … it’s the people that just need to bitch about something complaining. These are the same people who believe every kid should get a trophy in Tee-Ball. Our world has become to “mushy-mushy let’s all sit by a fire and sing Kumbaya”… oops, wait … that’s a religious song huh? Wow, how insensitive of me! I say bullshit, stop giving every kid a trophy!
I played sports as a kid. I played baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey and football. Hell, I even wrestled in High School. But do you know where I spent most of my time during these “sporting years”? On the bench! Why? Because I sucked for the most part! I played Little League baseball and I was afraid of the ball; makes it very difficult to hit or catch the thing if you close your eyes every time it comes within 2 feet of you! Soccer I played when I was really young and running around the grass after a little white ball just never appealed to me (until I started playing golf, but that’s different, I can drink now!). Basketball I played during middle school. Let me just say I was 5’4” until sophomore year in High School … now you know why I sucked at Basketball. Hockey was a High School sport I played but at the time in my life I was more interested in hitting people… I had the checking down but the puck handling and skating backwards I just didn’t have a knack for. I ended most seasons with more individual penalties than I did individual points! Football I was actually pretty good at and wrestling was the perfect outlet for me… I actually combined the two sports during my last football game! What’s this got to do with anything? Nothing really, except for the fact that with all the sports I played I never got a trophy … and I was OK with that!
Oh, and since we are on the topic of sports for a second I would like to add that if I was running towards the end zone about to score the winning touchdown … you can bet your yellow flag throwing, “don’t taunt the other team” preaching, Mr. “I don’t know how to use my common sense” refereeing ass I’m throwing my hand up in the air! I think that kid should have just told the ref he was so excited he was going to score that he started to piss himself and out of habit he just raised his hand to ask for a bathroom pass!
But I digress…
The point I’m trying to make here is that, as a society, we have become too soft. We spend all this time and energy trying to make everyone happy and feel accepted. That’s not reality folks. Reality is this country is a melting pot with a wide array of people who all have their own thoughts and beliefs. Some are widely popular, others not so much. That doesn’t mean one is right and the other is wrong, it just means we think differently! If it offends you that we are lighting the lights on a Christmas tree … don’t come to the tree lighting, stay home, I won’t be offended! But please, for all things that exist, stop with this Politically Correct bullshit already, will ya? I can’t keep up with it any more.
It’s 2011 and I’m not sure if I should refer to my buddy as a black guy or African American or is he a person of color?!?! I have an Irish name but I am actually Italian … should I refer to myself as an Italian American with Irish influences? Wait, actually maybe I should say I am an Italian NORTH American with Irish influences. Don’t want to offend anyone in South America. But wait, what if I moved to South America and became a citizen and had kids? They would be an Italian-North American-with Irish influences-South American, right?
Let’s do this, let’s make things simple for everyone … how about you just pay attention to what matters to you! If my Christmas Tree offends you don’t look at it! If me wishing someone a Merry Christmas offends you, don’t listen to my conversation! If it offends you that I call you black then tell me what it is you would like to be referred to as BUT STOP CHANGING IT! If I accidentally refer to you as Puerto Rican only to find out you are actually Dominican, Sorry! That’s an honest mistake and there is a good chance I will make it again! The same goes for any Chinese, Japanese or Koreans. I’m not being insensitive I just can’t keep up with all of the politically correct bullshit that is constantly changing!
Oh, and if your kid sucks at sports don’t be pissed they didn’t get a trophy. Use that opportunity to teach them that if they want something in life they have to WORK AT IT! Maybe even explain to them that not everything is for everyone. Maybe sports just ain’t their thing! And if your kid IS good at sports and wants to celebrate the fact they just got the winning touchdown, then let them throw their hands up in the air (even let them say “AY-O” if they want too!), let them know that it’s OK for them to be proud of their accomplishments. Sure, there will be kids that are sad because they lost … but if they don’t suffer the agony of defeat they will never truly enjoy the thrill of victory.
The kids I went to High School with had their Menorahs and I had my Christmas Tree and we all got along just fine. So please, stop giving all the kids a trophy, let my Jewish friends celebrate with their Menorah, my black-Africa-American-People of Color Friends celebrate Kwanzaa if they chose and let me enjoy my Christmas Tree. You? You go out and have the best of whatever it is you chose to celebrate!
Merry Christmas!
As Kramer would say, "Happy Festivus for the rest of us!"
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