Secular Season's Greetings

Remember a few years ago when Bill O’Reilly got his festive knickers in a twist because our big, bad secular society had waged a war against Christmas? Bill O and the Fox brigade were miffed because many retailers had ditched the “Merry Christmas” salutation in favor of the more inclusive “Happy Holidays.” It seemed to me that practice had been going on for years, but apparently it was slow news cycle and the story took off like a tardy Santa making his rounds with the B-team reindeer in the middle of a blizzard. Now conservative religious groups actually rate stores based on their “Christmas friendly” quotient.

Anyway, while the embers of that Merry debate may continue to burn, it’s a little 2008. The latest warrior– Sarah Palin– chimed in with her chorus of “Jingo All the Way,” whinin’ on Fox News about the lack of “foundational American values” displayed in the Obamas Holiday card. The facts that most presidents have adorned their cards with secular pictures of the White House while the White House itself is always filled with several Christmas trees seem to have eluded the former half term Governor/VP candidate turned Facebook celebrity.

I’m not an atheist, but I have compassion for true non-believers deluged with religious messages and the not so subtle merry mandate ( which takes its toll on the morose and clinically depressed, too). Everywhere they turn they are bombarded with seasonal symbols and songs. And they have none of their own.

Until now. Maybe this Steve Martin song will cheer on our abandoned Atheist brethren. It’s witty and catchy enough to become an instant classic.

So I offer Secular Season’s Greetings to one and all. While our beliefs will, no doubt, continue to diverge, there is one thing all Atheists and believers can agree on: fruitcakes are to be used sparingly and only for strictly nostalgic and decorative purposes.

Happy Nothing. Merry Everything.

Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace.

aba