Befuddled

Things that befuddle me at this time of year:

The posts that begin appearing in social media about how people are taking the Christ out of Christmas. Have you ever met one single person who said that we need to take the Christ out of Christmas? It seems to me a total non-issue and yet there are people getting really riled up over this. December shares other holidays during the month and that is why people tend to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Are we supposed to get all upset because people are commemorating Veteran’s Day in November while Thanksgiving is also in November? Or vice versa?

The posts that insist on using name calling as if it is a defense of their political or sports team affiliation. If I call you stupid that means I am right? This is so prevalent; it makes me incredibly sad. We get angry at politicians for behaving in this manner. Truth, here, if you are on my Facebook or Instagram feed, I am going to hold you to my standard which is pretty darn high. If you hate Ohio State football team that’s perfectly fine. Denigrating all Ohioans as stupid is not.

You don’t like a movie? Don’t watch it. You don’t like a certain politician? Don’t vote for them. Bashing other people to make ourselves feel superior in some way is not okay. Now I am not talking about politicians or anyone else conducting illegal activities. They need to be held accountable.

Let’s get real for a moment here, people. There are real struggles in the world right now that we can be concerned about. Someone saying Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas is not a real struggle. It is a personal choice. So, speak up and say Merry Christmas if it’s important to you. Most likely the person you say it to will wish you a Merry Christmas as well. If they say Happy Holidays in response, they are not denigrating you and your beliefs. If your football team is so important to you that you must consider your number one football rival and their fans stupid, you need to search your soul and figure out how to let go of all that ugliness. It’s football. It’s a game. One you are passionate about. One your rival team’s fans are passionate about.

No wonder there is such a divide over politics in this country. Heck, we struggle with holiday greetings and football rivalries.