My Nanna is a 75-year-old whirlwind of energy. She has vitality and a strong sense of her opinion always being right. She is a lifelong practicing Christian and believes Black people were always "saved" as she puts it. When I try to casually mention that Africans practiced an entirely different type of religion prior to being enslaved she says, "Huh? Gurl I don't see no Africains round heah!" The point I'm trying to make is that despite their differences, Nanna and Bill O'Reilly have one thing in common: they hate the "Secularization" of Christmas.
For those who don't know, Bill O'Reilly, of the Fox News Channel O'Reilly Show and Falafelgate, has taken it upon himself to harangue the Biased Liberal (and he might as well add Jewish) Media for trying to take Christ out of Christmas. For example, he cites as proof stories of businesses forbidding their employees from wishing customers Merry Christmas for fear of offending non-Christians as evidence of the vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.
I think it is reasonable for businesses to make that decision if they think it will impact their bottom line. But I also support a more important point: people seem to neglect that this time of the year should be more focused on the moral values Christ proclaimed rather than the cultural value of a flat screen television.
In the end, we should remember that this country was founded on the principle of the free practice of religion. Therefore, I think it is just as legitimate for someone to wish someone Happy Eid al-Fitr (celebrating the end of Ramadan) as it is to wish them Merry Christmas.
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