November 30, 2009

It's that Silly, Politically Correct Holiday Season

By Sammy Benoit

It happens every year at this time: the battles of political correctness. When a community puts up a Christmas tree, one of two things happens. Either there is a battle to take it down totally, or someone fights to get a Chanukkiyah (that's the real name, not Menorah), Kwanzaa candles, or a symbol of some other religion's holiday placed right next to it. Then Fox News follows by running stories about the latest battle in the "war against Christmas," and the ACLU starts suing any town whose mayor ever went to a church, mosque, and/or synagogue. Hey, ACLU: Give it up. America is a Christian country.

People who see December as an opportune time for the celebration of politically correct multiculturalism have to stop! I understand that people are trying to be fair, but it just doesn't make sense.

I can't speak for the other holidays, but I can tell you that nothing goes more against the true meaning of Chanukah than placing a Chanukkiyah near a "holiday tree" or using a "Jewish star" as an ornament.

The true meaning of Chanukah is the exact opposite of that multicultural rubbish. The Maccabees fought for more than getting the Greeks out of Israel and the cleansing and dedication of the Temple. The Chanukah Story also includes a civil war in Israel. Judah and the boys were fighting other Jews who had turned away from their faith by combining it with Greek/Hellenistic practices. The resulting assimilation caused a loss of Jewish faith and tradition. It's almost like today's Jews trying to celebrate Chanukah as the Jewish Christmas.

Let me suggest that if Matthias and his sons were alive today, they would be fighting every Jew who wanted a six-foot menorah next to a Christmas tree, a star of David next to a cross, or even the term Judeo-Christian values. There is no such thing! There are wonderful Christian values and wonderful Jewish values, and there are similarities, but there are also major differences (besides the obvious Messiah thing). For example, Jews "shalt not murder," whereas Christians "shalt not kill." This has millions of implications relating to war and to the death penalty. Some Rabbis interpret "Love thy neighbor as thyself" as a command to love yourself, whereas Christians emphasize the neighbor part. As Americans, we must celebrate those differences, not merge them into one hodgepodge of progressive mediocrity that celebrates absolutely nothing.

I would also suggest that all Jewish and mixed-marriage people who celebrate both holidays are also missing the meaning of Chanukah. The Maccabees were horrified when an idol was placed in the holy Temple. Rather than trying to fit with "modern" culture, they wanted to make sure that the House of God was a Jewish household. To remember the Maccabees, we should do the same with ours.

The Rabbis tell us that we are not to use the Chanukah candles for reading or seeing, as we would with a regular candle or a light bulb. The Chanukkiyah is supposed to be placed near a window so the light of God and his miracles will shine outward into the world. Mixing up Chanukah with other people's traditions diminishes the light and message of Chanukah as well as those other traditions.

And to my Christian friends: Please don't go get assimilated on me either. That tree in the mall is a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree. Santa is not a secular character; he is Saint Nick. You have a nice tradition. Don't try to make it politically correct by taking away its religious nature. Or as Judge Judy would say, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!"

America is a great country. It is great not because everyone celebrates the same, but because we can all celebrate our differences.

Sammy Benoit is editor of the political blog The Lid.