Wednesday, December 05, 2012

The dilution of Christmas

I say it has been diluted.  Take Business XYZ, let's say it's a major food/convenience chain that has been closed for Christmas since they've been in business.  In fact it's the only day out of the entire calendar year that they're closed but let's say they just made the announcement that going forward they're gonna be open most of the day and some will have to work.  OK leaving aside the corporate rudeness of the act, folks have probably already made some type of plans can't it wait a year? it is explained in the clearest pc terms though that the reason we're doing this is there are also Jewish people out there, Muslims etc. as if we weren't aware of that most basic of societal facts.  I say it's been diluted.  Were Jews and Muslims out complaining why is Business XYZ closed on Christmas? probably not, let's be honest.  Government offices are still closed for this day, post offices don't deliver mail and try going to the bank.  Of course public libraries are closed and often they're closed early on the day before and maybe even closed the day after.  Now bear in mind these are all pretty secular institutions and they're all closed and nobody beats the American Library Association for sheer pc'ness.  Oh about "Happy Holidays" which some around here are probably gonna bring up, I'm not against it myself per se and say it to customers out of personal habit but there's a difference between that and having to say it.  I HATE pc for the mere reason that it's pc and its main reason for existence seems to be that some folks might be potentially offended by this or that.  Often they're not offended, I'm not offended by Chanukah but getting back to Business XYZ are they gonna make such a ringing profit on being open that day that it justifies itself? probably not as most folks just wanna lay back that day.  I think Christmas has become a generic enough holiday where only the Scroogiest of people are offended.  It makes us think about charity and our fellow man and we give, it cuts across all political boundaries and spectrums and what is wrong with a little rest now and then by getting off the corporate gerbil wheel for a day and reflecting?  It's time we take Christmas back and I don't even think Moussa would be offended.

11 comments:

  1. IMO, its the old Morality vs Money issue. Local pizza place, best in town-they always close the week of Christmas for their employees. I've never been in customer service type work, but have worked any and all holidays, including Christmas. Why? Backorders. Gotta produce come hell or highwater.
    One time the CEO announced that it was so critical we could call him if we had problems while he was in Hawaii. Old ongoing probem- Ever read Scrooge?

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  2. Ever since the New Deal, Republicans have been on the wrong side of every issue of concern to ordinary Americans; Social Security, the war in Vietnam, equal rights, civil liberties, church- state separation, consumer issues, public education, reproductive freedom, national health care, labor issues, gun policy, campaign-finance reform, the environment, racial issues. And this blogger is no exception.
    No political party could remain so consistently wrong by accident.
    The only rational conclusion is that, despite their cynical "family values" propaganda, the Republican Party is a criminal conspiracy to betray the interests of the American people in favor of plutocratic and corporate interests, and absolutist religious groups.
    Mitt Romney, like George Bush and Richard Nixon, campaigned on a lie. Instead of secret plan to end a war, Romney promised a secret plan to improve the economy. Romney had no hesitation about lying about literally everything. His entire campaign was a scam -- And we all know what a liar George Bush was. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell and Rumsfeld all lied, in the true definition of the word. It is all documented.
    Whenever George W. Bush opened his mouth out come blatant lies. But the lie about why we invaded Iraq was not just one of his usual lies where he twists his words so badly that you don’t even know what he is trying to say. This lie was his most blatant lie, the one that started a war, the one that got over 1700 Americans and 10’s of thousands of INNOCENT Iraqis killed. No wonder he got a pair of shoes thrown at him.
    Why? Because they're evil GOP bastards!

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  3. There's no God anymore.

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  4. Tis possible that Christmas off might be legislated...but naturally if Big Bro does it...its
    real bad. Odd, how individual freedom bites some in the g. maximus sometimes.

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  5. Consider something truly amazing, astounding even. Our whole framework of Time, the Gregorian Calendar revolves around BC and AD and yet nobody seems to object. The fact that everyone acknowledges that we're in the year 2012 Anno Domini or the Year of Our Lord and yet no one seems upset by it. I've never heard it argued that this universal sense of time into BC and AD marginalizes those of other faiths.

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  6. The linearity of time requires a benchmark. The benchmark chosen was the birth of Jesus. There is some contention between some Christians and anthropologists by the use of BCE (before the common area) which is indentical to the BC
    of the benchmark. Serious Christian
    scholars (and others) offer compelling reasons why Dec 25, year
    0 was not the birth of Jesus, calculating 4 or 6 BC, April, May,
    September or October. Such were the
    early arguments that Constantine finally decreed Dec 25. Which is fine with me. [note to self: the world will end on Dec 21 according to the Mayan calendar-eat remaining
    hoarded twinkies]

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  7. Somebody marked that date on our calendar at work. I'd probably still have to work though.

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  8. Fiscal cliff, Benghazi blame, 5 year olds massacred, (and Grover Norquist)...how the heck we supposed to, oh heck...
    Merry Christmas, Z-Man

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  9. & Season's Greetings to you too my friend.

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  10. The annual gathering. Too many kids and grandkids..had to rent a
    motel room as well.

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  11. I kept thinking yesterday (Tuesday) was Sunday. Couple people I know feel Xmas should always fall on a Sunday like Easter, after all even most scholars will tell you Christ probably wasn't even born on the 25th.

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