From a friendly relative of mine comes a version of this holiday Christmas message from Ben Stein, with a dare:
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
To most of Ben's points of view, I'd add a hearty "amen." It is deeply disturbing to me that people are so caught up in frivolous popular culture at the expense of the many real and serious issues confronting our world today. It ought to matter a lot more that people are killing each other in Darfur (as an example) than whether Jessica is wearing Nick's ring, and what that could possibly mean.
I also agree with Ben that American society was never intended to be atheist, and the proliferation of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and various other religious structures bear witness to that. But I do think he'll agree that the framers had something specific in mind when they said they wanted no established religion, and I think he'll agree that being atheist (or agnostic) is a right protected by the Constitution.
I don't take offense when people wish me a merry Christmas, but I am not entirely happy about the underlying premise that everyone should be celebrating Christmas; and I've had discussions with people who just won't accept that they won't. The Daily Show and Colbert Report have the right take on it, and I'm sorry if that bugs you, Ben.
I agree that there is, and should be, a role for religion in public life, but then it needs to be based on intellectual integrity. "Because God told me so" is not a valid political argument. On the other hand, there is no question that we derive our values of human dignity, individual liberty, privacy, sanctity of life, etc., from religious values; though I also accept that you can hold those values without "being religious."
I always that the equivalence between Christmas and Chanukkah was a bit mysterious. It's entirely useful for practical reasons, when you have kids who pine for the pageantry and generosity of the Christmas season but aren't Christians. But Chanukkah is a minor holiday in the Hebrew calendar; while Christmas is the second most important holiday in the Christian calendar. Shavuot and Sukkot are far more important Jewish holidays but are almost obscure by comparison to Chanukkah.
Yet there are some common themes which probably hearken to our shared pagan origins and instincts. They are both holidays of light and renewal at the darkest time of year. The tradition of lighting candles during Advent is strikingly similar to lighting the Chanukiah.
If you distill these themes - renewal, hope, joy in the presence of family, and a time for reflection during darkness - they have universal appeal to Christians, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Taoists, and even atheists. And I think that's more than OK - it's great.
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