Goodbye Christopher Hitchens...and thank you

Christopher Hitchens died this week. Note that I don't use the euphemisms "passed away", "passed on" or "fell asleep", because out of respect for Hitchens' outlook on life I make no assumptions of him living on in an afterlife or any kind. Mr. Hitchens was an atheist. In fact he was more than an atheist, he was an anti-theist. Not a soft atheist who simply thought that there just wasn't enough evidence for a god, but a diamond-hard atheist, who was convinced to the core of his being that there was no God, gods, spirits...anything supernatural.

I disagree with Mr. Hitchens.

He was also as aggravating in his certainty as a fundamentalist; the caricature of the "angry atheist".

I also admire and respect him and thank him for making it okay to reject and repudiate the mainstream beliefs that dominate this country.

Several years ago a poll asked respondents to rate whether they would vote (in a Presidential race) for people of certain religions, philosophies, ethnic groups or sexual orientations based solely on their inclusion in that group. By far the group that received the highest negative numbers, that is the lowest number of people who would vote for a member of that group, was atheists.

As Americans we have gradually become comfortable with all manner of religious belief, but even as more Americans than ever refuse to identify with any particular sect or denomination, out and out rejection of all religions and gods is considered somehow anti-American.

But my greatest respect for Hitchens comes from this quote: "And even if my voice goes before I do, I shall continue to write polemics against religious delusions, at least until it’s hello darkness my old friend. In which case, why not cancer of the brain? As a terrified, half-aware imbecile, I might even scream for a priest at the close of business, though I hereby state while I am still lucid that the entity thus humiliating itself would not in fact be “me.” (Bear this in mind, in case of any later rumors or fabrications.)” Yes, there are atheists in foxholes.

So Who Are These Evil People Trying to Steal Your Christmas Tree?

Every December it seems, there are impassioned defenses of Christmas by folks who are convinced that "they" are waging a war against Christmas and by extension, Christianity. Somehow there is a perception that there is a conspiracy to force people to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", to have a Holiday Tree instead of a Christmas Tree. In recent years there have even been boycotts of businesses that have "Holiday" sales, rather than Christmas ads. The American Family Association (AFA), a Christian group, even rates various national businesses as "for Christmas" or "against Christmas" based on their use or non-use of the word "Christmas" and Christian imagery in their ads and seasonal promotions.

I think all sides and points of view in this "debate" can agree that there is not a movement afoot to prevent anyone from saying "Merry Christmas", putting up Nativity scenes in their homes or on their lawns or believing what the Bible says about Jesus. There is no law against any observance or any seasonal custom. It doesn't appear that anyone seriously thinks that Christians should (or could) be banned from using terminology associated with their religion. So when someone posts on Facebook, or writes an angry letter to the editor, or calls Rush Limbaugh that they will proudly say "Merry Christmas", I can't muster much more of a response than "ummm...okay". Good for you, you are defiantly daring to make a statement that absolutely no one has a problem with.

A problem that shouldn't be a subject for debate, but unfortunately is, regards government sponsorship or promotion of a particular religion. What we're talking about is when a government body puts up some symbol, like a Nativity scene, or The Ten Commandments, that represents the beliefs of a particular religion. The Constitution, in the First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". While some proponents of public endorsements of Christianity maintain that the First Amendment applies only to the federal government and not to state and local governments, Supreme Court precedents are such that, in light of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the First does apply to all units of government. So, in that regard, it is not appropriate for a Nativity scene to be placed on government property or for there to be recognition of the birth of Jesus in our schools.

Some cities have tried to sneak the Nativity scenes in by also including menorahs and other religious symbols. In this case I believe that there is room for debate among reasonable people. One way to look at it is that inclusion of a variety of religious symbols includes everybody...except that it doesn't; it doesn't include the non-religious or the atheists, and it rarely includes smaller faiths such as the pagan Asatru with their swastika symbol or the Wiccans with the five pointed star or (gasp) the Satanists.

A third category is the use of overt Christian symbolism in Christmas advertising. In this I believe that a private company should do what works best to maximize profit for their shareholders. As a non-government entity, they should (and are) free to mention or not mention Christmas to their hearts content. For the most part what influences retailers is their perception of what the majority of the public wants; and that perception swings back and forth. For a while many retailers began to advertise for "the holidays", and not specifically mention Christmas because the perception was that the public wanted inclusion of all faith and non-faith groups and didn't want to offend the non-Christians among their customer base. For several years now, however, a backlash against inclusive holiday language has caused many businesses to revert to the use of the term "Christmas" if not specific Christian, Jesus-based symbolism. It's all a matter of where the dollars fall.

Now if you don't know it already, I'm not a Christian, but I have absolutely no problem working somewhere that has Christmas ads, I really like Christmas music and am having a family get-together on Christmas Eve. I even say "Merry Christmas" to people. I'm not trying to take Christmas away from the Christians nor do I support those who do.  On the other hand I do not celebrate or observe Christmas as the birth of Jesus and get a bit miffed at those who assume that everyone should be celebrating what they celebrate, or look at me funny when I refer to Yule or the Solstice or the Goddess.

It's a big world out there my Christian friends, and we're not all like you...Merry Christmas