Holiday goodness
I got this the other day from a friend who is a Republican.
To All My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for other calendar years and the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
I thought it was pretty funny, if snarky and sort of "you people are so silly" in attitude. Like Republicans think they are better than Democrats because they are not all "politically correct." Honestly, isn't "politically correct" - aka respectful of the beliefs and feelings of others - just the right way to be?
Sometimes we can take it to a bit of an extreme, though. For example:
Yesterday, I was in the Maplewood garden center buying my Christmas tree (with my niece - very exciting for her to help pick it out! and fun for me, too) as well as a couple ornaments and paperwhite bulbs. When I had completed the purchase, I said "have a good holiday" and he said "oh, Merry Christmas" and I realized that it was perfectly fine to say that to him because I was buying Christmas stuff - he knew that's what I celebrate and he and I had talked enough that I knew he was celebrating it, too. It was just one of those moments of being in the same tribe, and it was nice.
I did like knowing that my automatic instinct is to be careful and respect other people's beliefs - I say Happy Hannukkah (which starts Sunday night), of course, and now I have a few Wiccan friends so I wish them "Happy Solstice." My niece learns about all of it, including Kwanzaa, which is not a religious holiday but a cultural observance.
It's cool to have such a lot of fun, happy things in the world to celebrate at this time of year! I love the shared happiness, no matter how we celebrate or what we observe.
So there you have it, from a died-in-the-wool liberal Democrat living in Maplewood, NJ (aka Park Slope West, for those familiar with that part of Brooklyn).
To All My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for other calendar years and the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
I thought it was pretty funny, if snarky and sort of "you people are so silly" in attitude. Like Republicans think they are better than Democrats because they are not all "politically correct." Honestly, isn't "politically correct" - aka respectful of the beliefs and feelings of others - just the right way to be?
Sometimes we can take it to a bit of an extreme, though. For example:
Yesterday, I was in the Maplewood garden center buying my Christmas tree (with my niece - very exciting for her to help pick it out! and fun for me, too) as well as a couple ornaments and paperwhite bulbs. When I had completed the purchase, I said "have a good holiday" and he said "oh, Merry Christmas" and I realized that it was perfectly fine to say that to him because I was buying Christmas stuff - he knew that's what I celebrate and he and I had talked enough that I knew he was celebrating it, too. It was just one of those moments of being in the same tribe, and it was nice.
I did like knowing that my automatic instinct is to be careful and respect other people's beliefs - I say Happy Hannukkah (which starts Sunday night), of course, and now I have a few Wiccan friends so I wish them "Happy Solstice." My niece learns about all of it, including Kwanzaa, which is not a religious holiday but a cultural observance.
It's cool to have such a lot of fun, happy things in the world to celebrate at this time of year! I love the shared happiness, no matter how we celebrate or what we observe.
So there you have it, from a died-in-the-wool liberal Democrat living in Maplewood, NJ (aka Park Slope West, for those familiar with that part of Brooklyn).
posted by julieannerickson at 10:39 AM
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