[3497] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: It's started again...
jtidwell@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (jtidwell@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Fri Dec 11 15:56:36 1992
rjbarbal: The problem is not that Christmas is a holy day. One of the
problems that started this thread is the fact that the United States
recognizes this holy day as a federal holiday, which is something
that it does not do for any other religion's holy days. This is
in direct conflict with the principle of separating church and
state, and people of other religions (myself included) are understandably
annoyed at this. I don't think anyone actively wants to deprive
Christians of their enjoyment of the holiday; but fairness to the
other religions represented in the U.S. is a worthy goal, don't you
think?
The other problem that started this thread is the secularization and
commercialization of the holiday that's already out there in the
culture. It's also annoying to some people, and surely doesn't contribute
to the religious enjoyment of Christmas for Christians. (Don't get me
wrong - gift-giving and other traditions are wonderful, but the ads
and the veiled threats ("14 more shopping days til Christmas! What,
you haven't sent your cards yet? You're not willing to spend more for
a better gift?" etc.) and the crowds all tend to distract from the
nobler aspects of the holiday, IMHO.) Combine this hype with the fact
that you don't celebrate the holiday anyhow, and it's even more
annoying.
Maybe we should move this to napalm now.
