Not Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas It Is

We are usually greeted with “Happy Holidays” these days in stores and elsewhere, it's expected that we will use this in place of Merry Christmas, and we are likewise expected to display gutlessness by doing so. (Of course, many store employees are threatened with being fired if they don't comply and just have to play the game, while some people use it to bask in that warm glow of moral superiority that they can get without having to put skin in the game, or even thinking about right and wrong.)

"A little smile, a word of cheer, A bit of love from someone near, A little gift from one held dear, Best wishes for the coming year. These make a merry christmas!" ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

We are told that this is so as to not inadvertently offend any non-Christians or foreigners, such as Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and whatnot. To me it seems like saying “Happy Holidays” to them is actually to insult; they are being told that we think they are so thin skinned and immature that they can't abide someone from a different culture. Would you, during a visit to France, be insulted if someone who, knowing that you were American, said to you “Happy Bastille Day?” I didn't think so.

To some extent the joke is on them. Happy Holidays really means Happy Holy Days, the very thought that is supposed to be suppressed. One might say Happy Holy Days instead.

"The holiest of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart; The secret anniversaries of the heart." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I suggest that we do not so insult any Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and whatnot by saying “Happy Holidays.” You don't want them to think that we think so little of them that we believe they are emotional children.

"She tried to get even with him through psychological warfare but couldn't, because he didn't care." ~ Steve Martin

Of course, there are others who use this and similar things as weapons in the culture war. Not only does it subtly degrade the culture, but it marks the users of the phrase as subservient to the culture warriors working to dismantle Western Civilization. Think of it as the “Happy Holidays Badge of Shame.” (If you have to say it to keep your job you are being coerced and are under duress. You are in some sense a victim of this psychological warfare and cannot be expected to give up your job over it.)

"Make no mistake: Satan’s specialty is psychological warfare. If he can turn us on God (“It’s not fair!”), or turn us on others (“It’s their fault!”), or turn us on ourselves (“I’m so stupid!”), we won’t turn on him. If we keep fighting within ourselves and losing our own inner battles, we’ll never have the strength to stand up and fight our true enemy." ~ Beth Moore

"A fight is mental, not just physical and psychological warfare is absolutely part of that." ~ Conor McGregor

It's similar to all the nonsense about changing the names of sports teams if they are Native American names. It's not about any sort of sparing the feelings of the American Indians, it's about subservience - we can shame you into changing your team's name.

Sports teams would chose American Indian names because the Indians are and were tough guys. I was grown up before an uncle showed me a picture of my grand-mother and her three sisters as young ladies, and explained that they were half Indian, making me one-eighth. I am not one-eighth insulted over any teams name. (It's not at all uncommon for Americans to have similar ancestries, and many don't even know it. They may have kept it quiet in my youth for fear of racism, but now it's often thought cool. I knew a couple of co-workers with similar American Indian ancestry.)

The point of all this is that these things are not about the apparent issue, remember that the issue is never the issue, much as the gun control issue is not about safety, it's about power and control.

"Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day." ~ Helen Steiner Rice

It's all about the culture war. Western civilization is a thorn in the side of those who want to rule over all, so efforts are made to degrade it. They use good people's decency against them, those who want to do the right thing and treat others properly. One is supposed to feel guilt over this, that and the other thing; guilt for slavery, racism and every ill thing that can be thought of. Remember, never feel guilt for things you have not done. It only works to the extent that people can see through it, and it seems like it has been an annoyance for so long that people are more and more seeing through it.

Happy Holy Days, Merry Christmas and Stay Brave, Stay Free