Much ado about nothing!

Hasn't the 'Happy Holidays' versus 'Merry Christmas' debate had its fifteen minutes already? Here is another example of a knee jerk conservative Christian reaction that has been blown up by the media into a so-called national crisis. How quickly we forget. Wasn't it just a year ago that the George Bush won the election on his so-called Christian values? Last time I checked our country is made of a vast majority of Christians. In Alabama, you can drive through many small towns that have only one grocery store and one barber shop, but I promise you there will be at least eight churches. My tiny college town of Montevallo, Ala. Immediately comes to mind. With a population under 10,000, there are seven churches within a two block radius and I know there are more than that in the official city limits.

In Birmingham, the largest city in the state, there are two Jewish temples and I know there are some Muslim places of worship, but I have no idea where they are. I imagine that type worship in the Baptist belt is probably done discreetly. It doesn't speak for the intelligence of a group of people when they are so easily offended and feel the need to be called to action over a non-issue such as this. A Christmas tree being called a holiday tree? Who cares? The Christmas tree actually began as a tradition by Norse pagans and Celtic Druids who thought the evergreen was a symbol of holiness since it never lost its foliage. Shouldn't Christians still be thinking about the hurricane that devasted a huge part of our country less than four months ago? There are hundreds if not thousands of people on the coast that still have no homes, not to mention a Christmas tree, but there are no more sensational images for the 24-hour news channels to cover so our concerns go from the serious to the totally stupid since that's the current noise coming out of the never-ending television news spin machine.

What frustrates me the most about this idiotic debate is that the mass commercialism and greed surrounding Christmas doesn't seem to bother the same folks that are so disturbed about the the name that retailers give religious December celebrations. If Christmas is really that sacred, then why in the world is it okay for so many national McRetailers to begin playing Christmas music and sell Christmas merchandise in October. Yes, Christmas is supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Christ and it still does mean that to the majority of people in this country, however it is also about making money and lots of it. 'What would Jesus' do those bracelets used to ask? He probably wouldn't be wrestling other people to the ground for the latest Elmo doll or 'Made in China' cheap electronic in Wal-Mart the day after Thanksgiving. At least that wasn't the Jesus I learned about in Sunday school.