Merry Christmas Mr. Offended

Ben Stein

In case you were wondering, I have mended my broken Christmas spirit somewhat. I did get my tree up, I have nearly completed my gift buying, I have plans for goody baking next week as well. I have been locked in my laundry room attempting to complete a large pile homemade gifts. I helped the kids with their gingerbread house kit too. Eh, I'm still not necessarily a fan of all the fuss and the greediness, but the spirit of giving I can appreciate.

I don't necessarily agree with the efforts of others to take the "Christ" out of Christmas. I mean what on earth is a "Holiday Tree"? I've seen mass posts being shared among my FB friends complaining about people not saying Merry Christmas anymore. I don't feel the need to yell though because I know that not everybody celebrates the holiday and that's okay. Apparently this bothers Ben Stein as well, read on:


(well said.....)

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year -- which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you.

It is quite eloquent and "searing" in reality!




The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it.

It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.

I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: Where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God ? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.

She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. (The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.) And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about -- And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

I received this in an e-mail and seeing as though I believe in God myself, I felt that it was completely worth sharing. So, Merry Christmas if that is what you celebrate and Happy Hanukkah too. And now I know why I always liked Ben Stein ;0)

Why I DON'T like Christmas

Call me what you will...

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you would have seen my Christmas posts from last year (click here and here and here and here). I really put a lot of work and effort into the holiday for my family and one would would never expect that I really can't stand Christmas. Yep. You read it right, I don't like it. I am also amazed at how personally people take this statement. "What do you mean you don't like Christmas?!" and "What's wrong with you?" We can discuss the latter for days and probably still get nowhere, ha!
The thing is, this is not a new feeling or anything, I've had a hard time with the holiday since I was a kid. I can remember many a Christmas I spent crying because I just hated it so. I have to hand it to my folks (and Mom especially) who did so much for us around the holidays and really showed me how to give back and make it special for us. As an adult, I have had an increasingly harder time every year to make it good for my kids and this year, I am having a horrendous time even doing anything at all. It's just so much work and the true meaning of the holiday is completely lost to the majority of the public. Maybe I'm going to have to break it down to get my point across:

1. Christmas = mass media feeding frenzy.
You need THIS, you want THAT. Celebrate this way, you are a bad mother if you don't get your kids that. It all boils down to guilt. I don't make much and I can barely afford to get my kids the bare minimum of what they need, let alone what they want. I want to be able to give so much more to everyone around me, who have loved me, who support me and I just can't. I can make things, give from my heart and I don't have the time to do what I want of that either. The whole situation makes me sad.

2. Past demons.
My ex-husband got me something for Christmas the year just before we got married and the year just before we split up. Nothing at all for the years in between. My man is good to me, he really is, but I have to spell out exactly what I want. We've been together for almost 8 years now and I would fall over dead if he were to give me something that he KNEW I wanted because he knew ME. I won't hold my breath though and I actually told him I didn't want anything this year. I guess we'll see.

3. The reason for the season.
If even half the people that celebrated the holiday put the emphasis where it should be (on Christ), I would be a lot happier about it. Nope, it is celebrated as a gimmee-gimmee day and that makes me sick.

4. I put in all the effort and see nothing in return.
Well, that's not totally true...my kids (my daughter especially) help out. I get paid in hugs and kisses and
"I love yous". I just wish I could get them more, nah, I just wish I could get them all of what they need. I bought clothes for my daughter at the thrift store yesterday because it's cold and she doesn't have much. My boys have just 2 pairs of shoes a piece and thank goodness my little on wears a uniform to school because he has nothing but ratty hand-me-downs to wear otherwise. It just makes me sad. They need things and are good kids and I can't give it to them.

5. Overload.
My work experience is in retail management. I have worked retail jobs for 15 years now. I get saturated with Christmas earlier and earlier every year. I worked C-store for 6 years and had one Christmas off in all those years. It really was just another day. See where I'm going with this?

Just 18 more days and we can forget about it until next year. Bah humbug. ;0P