Saturday, December 21, 2013

When will we learn to get along?



Traditional nativity scene
banned from park




Multi-culturalism and tolerance does not mean saying "you can't" all the time and neutering your own beliefs because you're shit scared of offending some small-minded bigots.

Multi-culturalism and tolerance means saying

You can ...
And you can ...
And you can ...

And rejoicing in the richness this brings to all our lives

Merry Christmas, everyone!

16 comments:

Unknown said...

The whole bloody world has gone mad!

Merry Christmas to you too :)

Anonymous said...

I agree....in years gone by we wished everymone a Merry Christmas and it was accepted by one and all in the spirit it was given...of brotherly love. Now we are supposed to give 'Holiday Greetings' or 'Seasons Greetings' .... nuts.....it's Christmas.

Al Penwasser said...

I was very happy to hear "O Holy Night" sung at our school's talent show yesterday. Not because it said "Christ" or "Lord" or whatever (NOTE: I'm Catholic. Not a very good one though. That's another story) but because we actually had it. They could've sung a dreidel song or something called Ramadanadingdong, too, for all I care. I wish we'd all just get along. Neither have I witnessed any assaults on Christmas, either. AND we recite the Pledge of Allegiance everyday. Good to know there are normal people out here.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Amen! We should all get to voice our beliefs.

Botanist said...

Wendy, it sometimes seems like that :(

Delores, "Happy Holidays" has in recent years become one of my pet peeves. It's Christmas. Deal with it!

Al, good to hear of some corners of sanity still persisting.

A postscript to this post...I popped in to the liquor store this morning, and they were playing Christmas carols. Proper carols, not this tinselly jingly feel-good-and-spend-more-money crap, but proper traditional carols. And the cashier wished me "Merry Christmas". My faith in the state of the world was restored.

Botanist said...

Alex, my point exactly.

klahanie said...

Hi Ian,

Your post title says it all, my friend. It's that political correctness gone beyond a joke. It has been frowned upon by some local Councils here that think that saying "Merry Christmas" might offend those who are not of such beliefs.

Indeed, we should rejoice and respect the diversity.

Merry Christmas to you and your family and that cashier!

Gary :)

dolorah said...

Sometimes I feel the You can is a reverse discrimination. We learn and grow from our past not only as individuals, but also as a culture, a people.

I'm not religeous myself - agnostic or existential, whichever says it for you - but I'm opposed to removing "one nation under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. I'm all for upgrading to a different theme that reflects the current times; but we should not discount our past, and what led the US to form in the first place. Traditions and holidays can be changed also, but the past has already been written, and should stand as a reminder of how far we've come.

I still wish Merry Christmas to anyone who celebrates it, even as I participate less and less. But, I don't go all out for Valentines Day or Halloween either.

......dhole

Valerie said...

I serious think the whole world has gone insane.

Hugs!

Valerie

Botanist said...

Gary, I'm sad that what I thought of as a largely American disease is now afflicting Britain too. I hope people fight back for their traditions.

Donna, that pretty much echos my own stance. I'm not religious either, but I see Christmas as a vital part of my heritage and my culture, and I resent small-minded Grinches trying to get rid of it.

Botanist said...

Valerie, I think there are still pockets of sanity out there, but we need to keep them from disappearing under the wave of negativity.

Denise Covey said...

You're so right Botanist. We are in danger of becoming so wishy washy nothing will mean anything. Christmas is a Christian celebration using a pagan date...but it is about Christ. If you don't believe in it...fine...do your thing...but it is wrong that those in a Christian country aren't allowed to celebrate the way they want to. If you visit a strict Moslem country you are expected to abide by their rules but when a strict Moslem group, for example, moves to a Christian country they want the Christian country to change to the extent of introducing their laws...this is scary...MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy New Year !

Unknown said...

Christmas has always been a day when Santa Claus flies into town in his sled driven by reindeer, drops off toys, and flies back to the North Pole exclaiming, "Merry Christmas!"

I have never recognized it as any form of religious holiday, so when people get all up in arms about it, I don't really see a point, as do many others who always knew Christmas as the commercial phenomenon it has become.

I always tell people Merry Christmas, and they can safely know, I'm not trying to convert them to my belief about where Christmas originated. It originated way before I was born, somewhere back in history, a long, long time ago. :)

Merry Christmas!!

Botanist said...

Denise, you nailed it! I hate it when tolerance is strictly a one-way street!

Diane, that's the spirit! :)

Gina Gao said...

While I do agree with most of your points, I just think that the nativity scene in the park is too much. Put it in your yard or private residence, I have no objection. But not in a public place. If you have one religious scene, you should have all religions displayed equally in the same area.

That's just my opinion though.

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

Botanist said...

Gina, those were just examples that caught my eye last week, my only real point being that our attitudes should be positive and embrace specifics rather than default to negative and blandness.

Regarding the nativity in particular, if you follow the link to the article they had been showing the nativity there for decades, and did indeed have other religions displayed there until some atheist humbugs put a big spanner in the works and forced them to can the lot.

P.S. I'm an atheist myself, but I see Christmas as a vital part of my cultural heritage and I don't want to see it squashed.

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