Tis the Season for Bickering and Judgement???

Mood: Worried (A very dear friend is in the hospital in critical condition. What started out as a simple case of a cold/flu has quickly spiraled into a life threatening condition)


What I'm Watching: Hoarders (Yes, again. It's like a train wreck, I tell you! I just can't stop watching it.)

Current Word Count: 11,637 (WooHoo! My muse is back and, even in the midst of the busy Christmas season, she's kicking some major hiney!)

It's the Christmas season again. Time for caroling, shopping, seeing friends and family and, unfortunately, it's also time for all the crazy folks to come crawling out of the woodwork. No, I'm not talking about your weird Uncle Joe...he's an entirely different kind of crazy. I'm talking about those people who, from one extreme to the other, try to take one of the happiest, kindest, most festive times of the year and turn it into one giant pissing contest.

On Saturday morning I was sitting with the hubs, reading the morning paper and munching on a poptart (blueberry if that sort of thing is important to you) when I noticed that there, on the front page, was an article about atheists who have their panties in a wad about the celebration of Christmas and how horrible it is when they are forced to shop in stores where Christmas music is played, where they are wished a “Merry Christmas” or where Christmas trees are displayed. And heaven Lord someone appropriate help them if they are *gasp* forced to see a Nativity scene in a public area.

I read the article, rolled my eyes, shared my frustration with the hubs and read my way through the paper where I came across another article detailing how some Christians are having a fit and boycotting certain stores who refuse to say “Merry Christmas” and instead opt for the more politically correct (?) “Happy Holidays”.

I really just don't get this mentality. So you don't believe in God and you choose not to celebrate Christmas. So what? Then a Christmas tree is just a tree with sparkly lights on it and religious Christmas carols are just songs that you may not enjoy listening to (I’m not a fan of heavy metal but you don’t see me demanding that it never be played in public). Seriously folks, it's not like the tree is going to tackle you, force you to read and swear belief in the Bible and it's highly doubtful that "O Holy Night" contains subliminal messages designed to turn you into a Bible thumping evangelist.

So you believe in God and celebrate Christmas as the birth day of the Christ child. That’s fantastic! But does someone wishing you a “Happy Holiday” suddenly nullify your belief system? Does it make the season any less holy to you? I sincerely hope not.

People? Get over your freaking selves!! Since when did we become so incredibly self-centered as a society that just being exposed to someone else's belief system (or lack thereof) constitutes an offense to our sensibilities? Really, if your belief system is so incredibly fragile that it can be affected or destroyed by simply being exposed to someone else’s then I suggest you need to seriously reevaluate your core beliefs.

Personally, I’m a Christian and the hubs is an atheist. We’ve happily spent the last 10 years together without either of us being offended by or being converted to the beliefs of the other. We have a Christmas tree and a Nativity set in our living room and the hubs? Still has his lack of belief firmly intact. I? Live with someone who sees Christmas as a bastardized version of a Pagan holiday but my belief in God and his Son remain firmly in place. So, wish me a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa or Happy Pagan Ritualistic Holiday. It’s all good. I’m comfortable enough in my own skin to allow you to be comfortable in yours.