I was at the store the other day and as I was leaving the cashier said, “Happy holidays.” “Merry Christmas,” I said, ever the rogue. She smiled and said, “Thank you.” Mind you, this took place in Phoenix. In Berkeley, her face would have melted.
The word “Christmas” is taboo for a large segment of non-Christians, particularly atheists, who would be more comfortable with a federal holiday celebrating pagan rites than Christianity. It makes one wonder how all of the previous non-Christians fared under a majority-Christian nation. Were they seething in quiet anger when December rolled around? Did they see Santa Claus as an symbol of an oppressive theocracy? Did they feel their rights were being violated whenever they encountered a Christmas tree in a public area?
The cultural divide in this country is deep, and in some ways probably irreparable. Glenn Beck said on O’Reilly’s show last week that it’s 1860 again. While Mr. Beck can be given to overreaction, this time I don’t think he’s far off the mark. I am not an alarmist, and I can’t stand hysteria (e.g., the panic over global warming); still, it would be hard for me look at what’s happening in California and Washington state and not see that this country is on the brink of something. (God forbid that that “something” will include violence, though if it does it will likely be violence of a 1960’s scale — Weathermen-style bombings of government offices and churches and homes — not the scale of violence that happened 100 years prior to that, as Mr. Beck alluded to.)
In times of heated debate, we like to invoke the middle ground. The inconvenient truth, however, is that many times there is no middle ground. One believes either marriage is solely man-woman or it isn’t. One believes either the Ten Commandments must be displayed on government buildings or they mustn’t. One believes either the phrase “In God We Trust” should be inscribed on our money or it shouldn’t. One believes either Christmas should be a federal holiday or it shouldn’t. And until recently, one believed either there should be a cross on the Los Angeles County seal or it should be removed. (It was removed in 2004.) This lack of a middle ground is what fueled the Civil War — the enslavement of fellow humans is legal or it isn’t — and the woman’s suffrage movement — women should have the right to vote or they shouldn’t.
The absence of middle ground, coupled with the inability of a minority to accept the views of the majority, has lead to our current culture war. I hope it will resolve itself peacefully, but looking at the anger that pockets of this country hold toward the beliefs of their fellow citizens, I doubt it.
Three-Legged Chair 