"Happy Holidays" Is Offensive

by Bill Barnwell
by Bill Barnwell

With all of this fuss over the whole "Merry Christmas" bigotry, an almost equal evil is going unnoticed. Supporters of so-called inclusiveness are peddling the phrase "Happy Holidays" as a tolerant substitute of the narrow Christ-centered expression. We must ask ourselves though, is this statement really non-offensive? The answer is that "Happy Holidays" clearly fails the diversity test.

Let us think and be reasonable for a moment here. Is telling people to be "happy" really a considerate thing to do? What about all the people that may be having a bad or unhappy day on that particular occasion? Maybe they just need someone to listen to them or validate their feelings. Do you really think that they need some moral do-gooder telling them how they should feel?

It’s almost as if their feelings don’t matter. Next time you are tempted to tell somebody "Happy Holidays" why don’t you for once think about the feelings of the other and realize that maybe they don’t want to be happy. You have no right imposing your happiness upon other people. Surely, happiness in of itself is a good thing, but not when it is forced upon somebody by moral zealots. Remember, words hurt.

This is particularly impacting to me because as a young teen I struggled with depression. I was a young person filled with anger and all I wanted was somebody to empathize with my unhappiness. So imagine my rage year after year when happiness was constantly thrown in my face. As a young man I felt that it was the height of intolerance. Why aren’t we thinking about the Depressed Community this time of year? Millions and millions of Americans are treated for depression this time of year. Happiness does not come easy to them. Why are they being left out of this equation each year around the so-called "happy" holidays?

As a Person Who Cares (I prefer that description over the narrow term "pastor" because of the religious connotations), I regularly work with teens. I know a few Goth kids who purposely wear all black and want to be unhappy. When you tell them "happy holidays" are you telling them that their feelings and desires are not valued? Are they suddenly not important? Respect the wishes of the Goth kids. Let them be unhappy. Stop invalidating their feelings and wishes.

On a related note, what about lonely people? The "holidays" are an extremely lonely time for many people. As if the atrocious Valentine’s Day isn’t enough, why do we need more occasions to make people feel lonely and then on top of that to tell them that they should be "happy" about it? That’s very cruel and doesn’t take into account the feelings of the Lonely Community.

There are many other offensive things about the so-called holiday season. I am indebted to South Park in their 1997 Christmas special for pointing out that Christmas lights are offensive to people with epilepsy. That’s a very true statement and it’s about time that somebody stands up for the drowned out voices in the Epileptic Community in the midst of this orgy of unwanted blinking lights during holiday time.

What about the Overweight Community? Far from being a "happy" time, the "holidays" are a time of a great deal of food and much temptation. Do you really think they appreciate having their condition glossed over like that and having all that food thrown in their faces during this supposedly happy occasion?

The Holidays have also left many a scar in the hearts of grown children and adults who are still struggling with the realization that Santa Claus is not real. For many of us, there are still dark memories from the day when we realized that our parents had lied to us our whole lives about the existence of Santa. I still can not recover from the devastation that occurred when I realized that I had believed a lie for my whole life. You try being "happy" and celebrating a "holiday" that was the source of nothing but lies in your life.

I think it is outrageous that society celebrates lying to children year after year like this. Is that really something we should promote? Just remember, when you tell somebody "happy holidays" you are standing up for lies, intolerance and deception. This I ask: Who is hearing the cries of the Young Deceived Community?

What’s most shameful in this episode is that supposed "liberals" and inclusive people are peddling this hurtful "Happy Holiday’s" phrase. Do they not realize the things that they hail during their supposedly secular holiday – insensitivity and lies–are some of the very things that they are supposed to oppose?

If we really want to be inclusive we need to throw out not only the disgusting and dogmatic "Merry Christmas," but also the thinly intolerantly veiled "Happy Holidays." If we want to keep these seasonal customs at the very least businesses and greeting card corporations could use a little more diversity training about all the above points that they have been apparently missing in this debate.

At the very least, when I open my mail, I shouldn’t have to look at cards that say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." If card companies wanted to be real inclusive they could just put the word "Hi" on their greeting cards (but in fairness, that may be questionable also, since some people might not be in the mood for being greeted on that particular day).

So in the true spirit of this season, Hi.

December 13, 2005

Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor in Flushing, Michigan. He spent most of his undergraduate college career studying politics and government before feeling called to the ministry. He has completed a Master of Ministries degree and is currently working towards a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree at Bethel College in Mishawka, Indiana.

Copyright © 2005 LewRockwell.com

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