Ed Weaver Is A Nitwit 12.23.06

I am happy to report that The Record has chosen to run two of my Letters To The Editor in their Pulse of the People column in the past eight days. The first was on Sunday the 17th and the second was yesterday on Christmas Day.

This week's column from Ed Weaver fits nicely with a post that I had timed for today so I get to kill two birds with one stone.

"Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays"

I wanted to start off this discussion by saying something clever like there's no "me" in "Merry Christmas." Much to my chagrin, not only is there a me, but it begins with such!

To my point, there has been so much discussion about the terminology of the season. "Merry Christmas," "Happy Chanukah," "Happy Holidays," and "Season's Greetings." What seems to be lacking is some perspective. In my mind, wishing someone good tidings is about them and not about me. I want to bring a smile to their face. I don't place my celebration on them, rather I acknowledge what they are celebrating and express my wishes accordingly. "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" are also plural so people celebrating multiple holidays are covered. The plural has a side benefit of including "Happy New Year."

The idea isn't, "I'm a Christian and I want you to know that by wishing you a Merry Christmas." Rather the sentiment should be, "I recognize you are a Christian so I will wish you a Merry Christmas." That means it's about you and not about me. This is where the generic "Happy Holidays" comes into play. If I'm not sure what a person is celebrating, I say something that encompasses everything. Perhaps the only time I could see an exception to this rule would be on Christmas Day itself. I take a pragmatic approach.

This is where I get to the money quote from Ed Weaver's 12.23.06 column:

"It saddens me deeply that anyone reading me wishing everyone a Merry Christmas may be offended. That's not to say I will refrain from doing so, however."

That's because wishing you a Merry Christmas is all about him, and not about you — who cares if you're offended?

I'll sign off by wishing you all Happy Holidays!

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Ed Weaver's column appears every Saturday in The Record newspaper in Troy, NY. I'd say he's a right-wing conservative, but all indications are that he's even whackier than that. His views are so skewed, and based in a reality that I don't even recognize, that I think he sees the world through fun house mirrors‚ only it isn't funny. He's proof of the theory that hindsight is 20/20, only his vision is 20/100...20 for those things that support his views, 100 for those that don't.

Previous Posts:
12.16.06
12.9.06 || 12.2.06 || 11.25.06 || 11.18.06 || 11.11.06 || 11.4.06
10.28.06 || 10.17.06 || 10.10.06 || 10.3.06 || 9.26.06 || 9.19.06