I'm sick of hearing about the "war on Christmas" and yet here I am, chiming in with my two cents. With so many other things that people could be focusing their energy to resolve - a real war in Iraq, the lack of adequate health care and the continual devastation of our planet - instead it seems that people in this country are obsessed with the supposed "oppression of Christians" and whether greeters at Wal-Mart should be saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." Media and bloggers join the fray, tossing around their particular variety of righteous indignation like school children throwing rocks in a playground scuffle.

I want to go on record saying, firstly, that I don't care what greeters at Wal-Mart say because I don't think anyone should support such a corrupt and exploitative company. Period. Secondly, I have always felt very strongly that government and religion should have nothing to do with each other and the trend toward a blurring of the line between them over the past few years worries me.

So what do Wal-Mart and the First Amendment have to do with each other? Nothing. Except that they are the blades that are being used to whip up this shit storm. Some Christians are angry because they think that being greeted with "Happy Holidays" belittles Christmas; some non-Christians are angry because they think that "Merry Christmas" is insulting and exclusionary. A certain vocal contingent proclaims to anyone they can that this is a Christian country. Except that, well, it's not. The constitution says so.

Underlying it all is a shameful lack of tolerance and unwillingness of people in general to *gasp* educate themselves about the cultural practices of others who share citizenship of this country with them. Wiccans generally consider Samhain to be the most important of their eight Sabbats, not Yule. A number of Jewish bloggers I read say they don't understand the fuss since Hanukkah is relatively low in the hierarchy of Jewish holy days. In fact, most Christians I know will tell you that Easter is more significant than Christmas because it represents Jesus' resurrection, the event upon which the major tenet of Christianity is based - Jesus sacrificing his life so that others may enjoy eternal life in heaven. So why all the arguing over Christmas? Religious relativism notwithstanding, this is a time of year when many faiths are celebrating holidays of some importance to them.

Now that Google includes blogs in their news alerts, I've been reading a lot of interesting (and I use this word in the most judicious, inclusive way possible) views on the subjects of winter holidays, the public celebration thereof, and the current state of our budding theocracy, some are more "interesting" than others. A particular Dragonlady had this to say about the separation of church and state in her Christmas Letter:

The first thing I'd like to point out is that nowhere in the first amendment do the words "separation of church and state" appear. It simply says that the government can't make laws establishing a state religion. In other words, the state can't say, "The official religion of the United States is Christianity (or Buddhism, or Wicca) and those who don't follow it will be executed." It doesn't mean that Christianity has to be wiped clean from everything to do with the government (nativity scenes on courthouse lawns, "In God We Trust" on our money). If people want equal say, religiously speaking, then have at it and set up your own festivals on courthouse lawns. That's what the first amendment is talking about, as far as I'm concerned. Everyone being able to practice their own religion without the state stepping in and saying "no, THIS will be your religion."

Not only do I think that this is one of the more accessible distillations of what the First Amendment actually stipulates regarding religion and government, I happen to agree with her point of view. Mostly. Herein, of course, lies the rub. Very rarely do practitioners of non-mainstream religions get to set up their own festivals on courthouse lawns - or get to have the symbol of their religion on memorials to their dead family members who died while in service to the US military.

Remember the story last year of Wiccan priestess Cynthia Simpson who took her case to court when she was excluded from a group of local clergy who were invited to pray at the opening of governmental meetings in Chesterfield County, Virginia? Simpson was told that invocations are led by Christians. The federal judge who ruled in Simpson's favor (she later lost the case on appeal after the county changed its policy) said the county's policy was unconstitutional because it stated a preference for a set of religious beliefs.

And there is the recent example of a Rabbi who asked the Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, Washington to display a menorah alongside the Christmas trees they had on display. He threatened to sue when the airport refused and the entire affair blew up. The trees came down, the local media made the Rabbi out to be a Grinch, outraged Christians lodged hundreds of complaints with the airport and threatened the Rabbi with violence. Under public pressure, the Rabbi said he would not sue and the airport put the trees back up. The menorah? Nope.

So, while our constitution does provide the legal framework for equality of religion that allows people to practice whatever religion they choose without interference from the government, when it comes to the public expression of those religions, some, as they say, are more equal than others. It's perfectly understandable that those who have been continually marginalized by this country's general cultural myopia would become resentful after a while. And the pendulum of political correctness swings the other way, taking a few Christmas trees with it.

In an amusing story that illustrates this phenomenon, one of my favorite bloggers, who is a Druid, recently set out to decorate the classroom where she is substitute teaching with a few personal items: "a silk holly wreath, a metal wreath that said 'Merry Christmas' with angels on it, pictures of my kids and my dad, a Brian Froud card with the Faerie Godmother depicted in stunning purple tones." She was told that the "Merry Christmas" wreath was politically incorrect.

Not to belittle the genuine grievances that members of minority religions often have against the establishment, I personally don't see the harm in putting Christmas decorations anywhere. If the choice is all or nothing, I vote for all. Besides the fact that many Christmas decorations are pagan in origin anyway, they're just festive and serve to brighten both spirits and surroundings at what can be a dreary time of year. So, the more the merrier, literally. Menorahs - more lights - more merry!

Which brings me back to the Dragonlady:

And while I'm at it let me just say that to call something a "holiday tree" and people being offended by "Merry Christmas" is completely ignorant. Are people really so shallow and thin skinned that they don't understand that the tree is STILL a Christmas tree no matter what we're made to call it, and that the phrase "Merry Christmas" is a greeting of well wishes toward you? Who would be offended by that, other than some petty, thin-skinned, very selfish person. If a Wiccan greets me with "Merry Meet" I don't get all bent out of shape. I see it as a warm greeting toward me.

Amen, sister.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 11:32 AM