This I Believe: I Believe In Saying "Merry Christmas"
We all have our own beliefs, whether they be trivial, superstitious, or religious. For some, a believe may be as important as believing in the Holy Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, while for others, it may simply be still holding your breath when they pass a cemetery. For my believe statement, I chose to share my belief in the ability to wish someone well during the holiday season with whatever religion you practice. I chose to revise this essay because this issue is especially important to me because during a time when our diction is becoming increasingly politically correct, I'm finding that it's harder and harder to have a real conversation without fear of someone taking offense. In addition, since it is the first essay we wrote for the class, I figured that it would be prime to revise at the end of the class as well.
I revised this by tightening grammar and sentence structure. Looking back, I realized I had many long sentences that dragged on, or ones that were often punctuated with hyphens, disrupting the flow of the essay. I also took helpful feedback I received on the essay and tried to incorporate my metaphor of dancing throughout the piece, to tie the essay into an overall more cohesive piece. Finally, I changed some of my wording throughout to better convey my point. While my piece is titled "I Believe In Saying Merry Christmas," this was only because it was pertinent to my personal story included in the essay. I hope now that it is more clear that while I do hope we can say "Merry Christmas" freely, I wish the same of "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Kwanza," and any other religious sentiment. Below you will find my final revised "This I Believe" essay.
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December is a month of holidays--a month where fireplaces crackle with merriment, marshmallows puddle in pools of chocolate, and brightly wrapped packages sit teasingly in the corner. It’s a month where we can be thankful for what we have, reflect on what we’ve done and envision what we’ll do in the coming year. But these days its become more of a month of stress--with everyone tiptoeing around everything they say.
A couple weeks ago I ran into a high school friend’s mom at a local supermarket. After a brief conversation--Yes, I was enjoying college, yes I was studying hard--she waved goodbye with a “Merry chr-” only to look at me hastily and exclaim, “I mean happy holidays!” What happened to Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza? Whichever of these she could have said that day wouldn’t have mattered to me--aren’t we all supposed to be celebrating our own holidays anyway?
I’ve come to realize that not only has America garnered a reputation as a superficial, arrogant and obese nation, but also as one swaddled in its own insecurity. We’re so afraid that we may offend others at the expense of our own beliefs that wishing a fellow citizen well becomes an intricate ballroom dance in which we jump around, desperately dodging each other’s toes.
I believe in the right to say, “Merry Christmas” without fear of retribution--not because I believe Christmas to be December’s overriding holiday. As a nation once known to be a “melting pot,” we are now boiling down every holiday, every religious practice, every belief to one simple phrase, entirely devoid of meaning. “Happy Holidays.” Of course, a central aspect of common decency is being able to accept others’ beliefs without trying to impose your own ones upon them. But to let this decency to evolve to the point where one is unsure of how to best wish someone well without stepping on their toes is absurd. I believe that we should be able to accept a “Merry Christmas” or a “Happy Hanukkah” whether we are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or Buddhist, and that as a nation we should not be so quick to take offense. That acceptance of others’ beliefs fosters an accepting nation as a whole and that we cannot allow ourselves to carp about the mere mention of a holiday we don’t practice--because no matter how much we dance around our words, it won’t go away. I believe in saying, “Happy Hanukkah,” I believe in saying, “Happy Kwanza,” and I believe in saying, “Merry Christmas.”
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