Giving Christianity a Bad Name

The WaPo reports on some bible-thumpers complaining that the President sent out a "holiday" card instead of a "Christmas" card. You can always go find some jerk who takes an extreme position that offends just about everybody els. I suspect this is why the WaPo published this. It's supposed to counter all the complaints about the war on Christmas.

Once again we see the media driving us toward the poles rather than seeking common ground.

Should you send your Jewish or HIndu friends a Christmas Card? I hope not. On the other hand it's pretty silly to call a Christmas tree anything else, because it's a Christian tradition. True, it was once a pagan symbol, but it has become a symbol of the commemoration of Jesus' birth. If we put up a Menorah, we don't call it just a Holiday Candlestick. That's not what it is. There is room for holiday cards, but there is no reason for everybody to fear the word Christmas, nor Chanukah, nor Ramadan.

We should appreciate what we all have in common, and respect each other's traditions. But tolerance is a two-way street. The main message of Christmas to the world is "Peace on Earth and Good Will to Mankind." Use some sense and quit looking for reasons to condemn others. Christ himself would tell us to cease contending with one another. He would also tell us that governments are for the people not the other way round. Let people be people, but stop the squabbling.