Greetings and Salutations;

Well,   Thanksgiving is coming up on us like a turkey-shaped train!   This should be a pleasant time of year for us…with good feelings and thankfulness that we have made it through the challenges of the year,  are still alive and have some provisions for the Winter.

Alas,  this is an ideal that is harder to achieve every year.   However,  delving into that topic is perhaps more appropriate for a different time.    No.   Right now,   I want to mock the annual whines that show up at this time of year from the people who are so self-centered and intolerant that they cannot stand for ANYONE to have a tradition or thought that differs from their reality.    In this specific case,   I was presented with THIS image on Social Media  today:

This is so bloody silly it boggles the mind that it is still showing up. When I saw it,  my first reaction was this:   What world does this poor soul live in? I have folks that, when they are talking about the Pagan Celebration Saturnalia, refer to it as Christmas. I have had people who are talking about the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s period say “Happy Holidays”.

Really…how many times in our lives has ANYONE said to us “Oh, no, you cannot say that…you have to say “Happy Holidays”?”   I suggest that, unless you are dealing with a governmentally funded organization,  you have NEVER heard it,  nor will you ever hear it.

I suggest that life would be much better if we simply enjoy the positive aspects of these special days, do something nice for someone else, and not decide to be insulted because someone else may call the day something DIFFERENT from what YOU call it.

I realize that in the hidebound, limited reality that too many Christians In Name Only live in,  this is blasphemy.  However,  We ALL need to remember, at this time of year, that we are a very diverse country,  with more traditions than we can shake a stick at.   That is why our Founding Fathers  included in the Constitution,  the “Establishment Clause”, that ensures that the government shall never give one religious tradition precedence over another.    These days, alas,  with the flood of religious fanatics that seem to be trying to take positions of power,   that clause is being stretched to the breaking point.

If we all want a better America…to “Make America Great Again”…we each need to remember that every citizen has the right to believe as they choose.   We may not agree with those beliefs,  but,  we should,  because of the Constitution,  respect their right to believe this.  Just because someone prefers to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”  is no reason to whine that they need to be expelled from the Country!   I am reminded of the old saying “Be careful what you pray for…you might get it”.    Think for a moment when disrespecting others and remember that it is quite possible that there are a LOT of people who think YOU are wrong..and should be deported.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Joyous Saturnalia!

God help us all!

Bee Man Dave