More and more we hear greetings this time of year expressed as "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas." Because of that, we hear more and more dissatisfaction in private conversation over the use of this politically correct, generic greeting.
Are we becoming too polically correct in today's society?
Read the following article and write a thoughtful response.
http://theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/539318/Can-we-be-politically-correct-an---.html
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13 comments:
We are definitely becoming too politically correct. It’s ridiculous that you’re not allowed to say “Merry Christmas” anymore. Seriously, get over it. If you don’t celebrate it then good for you. Let the people who do be allowed to say it, it’s not like they are offending anyone anyway. I do celebrate Christmas, however, it someone said to me happy hanukkah I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I'd wish them the same back, it's just common courtesy. It’s okay to say “Happy Holidays,” but I don’t see the problem with saying “Merry Christmas.” This is honestly ruining the holiday spirit because Christmas is a big deal in December. It’s absurd that you aren’t allowed to say it in certain stores and schools, like what is the big deal? It’s called having free speech. If someone doesn’t like it, then too bad; walk away if it’s really bothering you. I’m sick of people trying to find any reason to sue someone for discrimination. Find other things to be mad about, I mean really.
I believe that we are not becoming too politically correct. Yes, for hundreds of years before this, it was okay and traditional to say Merry Christmas around the holidays; however, Christmas time has changed drastically in the past couple of years. I feel that Christmas has somewhat lost its old time spark or true meaning. When I say old spark, I mean the type of Christmas you see in the movies where the towns’ people all come together to decorate the town and they sing carols around the tree at the annual Christmas tree lighting. It was a time when Christmas was more about family, friends and giving rather than presents. I feel as though presents and buying items have taken over one of the true traditions of Christmas. For example, today people go out shopping late at night on Thanksgiving, just to take advantages of special sales and to start on their Christmas shopping. Some people spend so much time worrying about buying gifts that they forget about the friends and family part of Christmas.
The article argued that not being able to say “Merry Christmas” was destroying the American tradition at Christmas. Not being able to say “Merry Christmas,” is not the only thing that is appearing to destroy the traditional Christmas. As generations change and people get older, traditions change, whether people want it to or not.
I believe that saying “Happy Holidays” can be just as meaningful as saying “Merry Christmas.” I don’t believe that we should discriminate against other holidays. Just because a large majority of the people celebrate Christmas, doesn’t mean that we should just forget the other holidays. We don’t discriminate against race or ethnicity. Why should we discriminate against religion or holidays?
i think society is becoming to politically correct.I am not religous at all, but i celebrate christmas. however, i would not be affended if someone sent me a happy Hanukkah card. to me it seems a little bit silly to complain about someone saying merry christmas. I honestly think that people who complain about such a thing are just doing so because they have nothing better to do.
However, on the other side when something hurts someone it is not ok. For instance, the confederate flag or wearing a KKK coat is not ok because that is associated with racism.However, something like Merry Christmas has no negative conotation to it and it is not hurting anyone.
Yes, we are becoming too politically correct. People who say happy holidays, are saying it to be nicer to people who celebrate hanakkuh and other holidays. December is Christmas season. People don't care. If you ask jewish people they don't care. Christmas is the main holiday for catholic people, and it is there time to celebrate. Passover is the main holiday for jewish people, so they don't care. Sure they like celebrating Hannukah, butim pretty sure it isn't there main holiday. Merry Christmas, should be said and heard whenever in december.
What is wrong with becoming more politically correct? With society supposedly evolving into a new and improved, politically correct society, in which we say, “Happy Holidays”, rather than, “Merry Christmas”, we are maintaining a level of general acceptance which we should have for other religions. In the United States, about 95% of the people celebrate Christmas. There are roughly 307,006,550 people living within this country; these statistics holding true, the five percent of people who celebrate other holiday’s amounts to 3,070,065.5 people. This is quite a substantial number, so I do not see it as a bad thing to not offend these non-Christmas celebrating people simply by saying “Happy Holidays”. Things such as new years, Christmas, Chanukah, kwanza and other holidays of the time, can all be spread by saying “Happy Holidays”. Sure the 95% of people would be happy to hear “Merry Christmas”, but they would be just as happy to hear “Happy Holidays”. It is meant to be a kind gesture with holiday spirit, and some sayings are being vilified into a disrespectful manner. Be safe and say “Happy Holidays”, therefore you are spreading joy to everyone this holiday season.
Companies are becoming to politically correct, when removing “Merry Christmas” from a holiday card that is obviously suppose to be meant for those who celebrate the Christmas holiday. There has always been a wide selection of cards and gifts for those who don’t celebrate the Christmas holiday; and for companies to force the removal the “Merry Christmas” greeting they could in fact offend the majority in an attempt to be politically correct towards a minority. Whether a person wishes you a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” there are only good intensions behind it.
I don't think we are getting too politically correct, I think people are getting more specific on what they want to find to complain about. It's not the whole world that gets offensive about saying "Merry Christmas" when they are Jewish, it's only a handful of people. It's not an offense, it's a saying to wish someone around the holidays. I think holidays are becoming too comercialized. Holidays are about caring about one another and being nice to everyone. Everyone is cheerful and joyous. It's about the holiday spirit in the air. People need to let go of what they want to be mad about and just enjoy spending time with their family. I don't know how someone can be offended by saying happy Hanukkah when everything is so beutiful during this time of the year.
While I understand from a business standpoint the use of 'Happy Holidays' in place of 'Merry Christmas', I feel you can use whatever greeting that pleases you most outside of the work place. If you pass someone and say 'Merry
Christmas' and the persons response is 'Oh, I'm Jewish...' then that is that and you simply say 'Oh sorry, Happy Hanukkah!'
Problem solved. Although in this day and age when people can find and complain about anything and everything with a little bit of money, businesses need to worry about that one shopper that will take it to court that they felt 'left out' by a kind sign that says 'Merry Christmas.'
This holiday season, keep Christ in Christmas and in yourself, be kind to all and whether you believe in Santa Claus or the Dradel Fairy, express yourself and how you celebrate the season.
I understand why some people may say happy holidays to not offend anyone, but to not write merry christmas on a christmas card your sending out just seems a little werid to write "festive". happy holidays has nothing wrong with it. everyone that lives here has their own beliefs and relgions. just saying happy holidays makes it cheerful and people cannot be offended. you may think its politcally correct but the real thing is the U.S. has become such a diverse country that it is the correct thing to do.
I do not believe that we are becoming too politically correct. I don’t understand why anyone would be offended by someone saying “Happy Holidays”. It is not like that is a rude thing to say it is pretty much the same as saying “Merry Christmas” except in a different way, it has the same meaning. While I do understand why they say “Happy Holidays” I also wouldn’t see it as offensive if someone said “Merry Christmas” they have no way of knowing what I believe in and they are just trying to wish me happiness in this time of year. I think that “Happy Holidays” would probably be the best greeting as to say all holidays in one, but I think it is completely up to the person which one they would prefer.
I personally don't see what the big deal is with how people or companies wish people a happy holiday. Why would somebody be offended if they saw a sign that said "Merry Christmas?" It is common knowledge that a lot of people are catholic and celebrate that, but there are also a lot of other religions that celebrate their own holidays and they can have their own signs if they want. As a catholic, I would not be offended or fazed at all if I saw a sign that said "Happy Hanukkah!" or "Happy Kwanzaa!" It would actually be better so people are more aware of the different cultures we have in this country and embrace that. We are definitely becoming too politically correct.
There is no doubt that Christmas is the biggest holiday around the November and December. But there are still other holidays that don’t get any recognition. I have no problem with businesses and stores saying happy holidays because that just benefits everyone. Stores are basically saying Merry Christmas when they hang up decorations and a tree. If they have Happy Holiday signs there should be no angry people. Although when it comes to people, they have the right to say what they want. If there is a Christian man saying Merry Christmas to a Jewish man, he has the right to do that if he wants. People have the right to greet other people the way they want but I think businesses should stick to Happy Holidays to prevent controversy.
The push to become more politically correct is getting crazy. I understand the point people are trying to make. They think their religion is being forgotten about, or ignored, or simply not recognized by society. However, as this time of year becomes controlled by retailers and the media, Christmas has become more of a season than a holiday. Between the decorating, buying, wrapping, preparing, and the same 30 songs they play on the radio for a month, Christmas is no longer a holiday, as supposed to a time of year. Being offended by the simplest of traditional greetings is insane. Ir's the holiday SEASON. Tis' the SEASON. Help to make the SEASON bright. The SEASON is upon us now.
Your witness.
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