The Oppression of Christmas
Expat and I have been discussing the "oppression" of Christianity felt by many in this country lately - especially as Christmas approaches.I haven't read any great experts' opinion on this topic, but I've done some observing and reflecting and have come to some conclusions.
This week, on the whiteboard in my staff room, a message read, "The dress patrol will be enforcing a strict Christmas dress code on Wednesday and Friday." Now, this is a rather cheeky way of encouraging the staff to wear Christmassy garb on the assigned days - and I recognized it to be such. However, even as a celebrant of the Christmas holiday, I felt a little bombarded by this message. First of all, I don't have any Christmassy clothing. Second of all, what if I were Jewish? An atheist (which I was at one point)? A Muslim? A Jehovah's Witness? I realize that my fellow teachers were just trying to spread some holiday cheer. I'm all for that. But could it be done in a more sensitive manner? Could I (and the above litany of non-celebrants)be a little less sensitive?
What I'm getting at, in a rather round-about manner, is that the "attack" on Christmas and other Christian traditions and displays - and there have been some - may be the result of Christian America's inability to realize that not everyone wants to celebrate Jesus, and that's okay. No one has ever benefited from being forced to be a part of Jesus' community of followers. In fact, many have been worse off as a result of their involuntary participation.
posted by MoLak Jedi @ 11:26 AM
