Extreme political partisanship seems to invade almost everything, these days. The truth is, though, that both sides do not share the blame equally for this state of affairs. The progressive woke left cannot resist the urge to color every event, every symbol, every cultural reference, and even every national holiday with its increasingly bizarre ideology. The rest of us simply cannot be left alone to enjoy anything without hearing a lecture about how terrible we are for merely observing the kinds of things Americans – and other Westerners – have innocently celebrated for many decades or even centuries. The culture-Karens of the Church of Woke stubbornly refuse to live and let live.
The antics of the wokesters, as they try to kill every opportunity for normal people to eat, drink, and be merry, range from ludicrous to downright nasty to stunningly profane. Case in point; leftist zealots over in England decided to rewrite a beloved Christmas carol to make it more woke. The All Saints and Holy Trinity Choir in Loughborough sang an altered version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” during a carol service on Dec. 19. The new, more “inclusive” rendition, according to the Express, began, “God rest you queer and questioning, your anxious hearts be still.” Another line was, “God rest you also, women, who by men have been erased.” That part, at least, is somewhat accurate. The woke left is indeed trying its best to erase women by claiming an inability to define “woman” and encouraging men to enter women’s sports, crushing all female competition.
Then, of course, there’s the left’s ongoing fight to not only remove any connection Christmas has with Christianity but stamp out the festivities altogether. First, it was about getting rid of Nativity scenes and displays, but then, it supposedly became offensive to say, “Merry Christmas” and, now, even the Christmas trees and decorations are verboten. As one resident of Dedham, MA told town leaders in response to the local library’s decision to not display a Christmas tree, “This is not about a Christmas tree. This is about you trying to lead the town into being woke.”
The rage felt by progressives at Christmas time is two-fold; mostly, it’s about their hatred of Christianity but it’s also about their dislike of all symbols and celebrations related to western culture and tradition. Good Christians, of course, would not revel in the misery of others – but for the rest of us not-so-good Christians, the anguish felt by the woke crowd around this time of year is really quite exquisite. Their misery has become another reason to celebrate with even more gusto. And, after all, no one is forcing them to be unhappy; they are more than welcome to enjoy the season of peace and goodwill to all men – they just choose not to, because goodwill to all men does not appear to be in their nature.
The University of Maine has decided to stamp out Christmas altogether, sending an email to staff and faculty warning them that “any public areas with Christmas or any other religious themed decorations” would not be tolerated. “Winter holiday decorations are fine but we need to not display any decorations that could be perceived as religious,” the email continued. “This includes xmas trees, wreaths, xmas presents, menorahs, candy canes, etc.” Bah, humbug.
No One But the Woke Find Christmas Offensive
Who is offended by such things? Muslims do not believe Jesus was the son of God, but they still revere him as, in their eyes, a prophet. Can anyone remember a time when American Muslims made a big deal about being offended by Christmas celebrations? No, because it has never happened. So, are we upsetting Pagans? No, because Pagans don’t really care, either. Give them body paint, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and let ‘em dance around some old stones and they’re perfectly content. What about the Sikhs, Hindus, or Buddhists? Nope – they have never expressed any grievances over Christmas, either.
Ah, but the atheists? For those true atheists – and they are few because most people who call themselves atheists are in fact agnostic – it just isn’t possible to be offended by the birth of the son of a god they do not believe exists. If one is convinced there is no God, then it just doesn’t make sense that one would feel in any way threatened or discriminated against by others who do believe.
So, in the real world, the only people who are offended by Christmas are white (mostly) left-wing professors, journalists and activists, and some members of the younger generations who have been indoctrinated into thinking they should be offended.
On a parting note, it is only fair to acknowledge that outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) did, in fact, wish her congressional colleagues “Merry Christmas” in a short speech on Dec. 23. She made sure to make it inclusive, though, by also wishing them “happy holidays” and “Happy Hanukah.” But she didn’t stop there. The Democrat leader included “Happy Shwanza” in her sign-off. Presumably, Shwanza is some kind of seasonal celebration for African Jews. Then again, it was probably a slip of the tongue by Pelosi, who, according to anonymous and probably fictitious sources, had chugged 14 pints of eggnog before making her remarks.
