Season’s Greetings — By John Reed

Season’s Greetings
Every year around this time, the debate about the commercialization of Christmas starts up. As predicable as “Nutcracker” jingles in Walmart, the sanctimonious grumble about losing the purity of the season. Churches selling CD’s of their latest musical production certainly sends mixed messages.
And now a new wrinkle as manger scenes become political statements. Baby Jesus in ICE handcuffs? Puh-leeze…can the liberals let up at least for a day or two? And of course the race baiters and anti-Christian apologists have to have their say.
“Jingle Bells” is now racist: apparently the original composer may have intended it for use in minstrel shows, which in the late 19th Century were unapologetically [and socially accepted] forms of entertainment. While the blackface and stereotypes would be cringingly unacceptable today, these troupes crossed the country, providing jobs for many freed slaves, and an introduction for Whites into Black culture. After 150 years, can we just enjoy laughing on a one-horse open sleigh?
While we’re delving into history, I’ll be the first to accept Christianity’s dark chapters where it comes to “recruiting” non-believers. The Crusades, the Inquisition, Salem. As recently as the last couple of centuries, native Americans [and Canadians] died in massive numbers while being told to turn the other cheek. But it’s exactly because of these horrors that we can recognize and call out those who still demand infidels convert or die.
As we celebrate the birth of the one Christians believe founded their faith, the original tenets of that faith haven’t changed. Humility, faithfulness, and the ability to make a personal choice about who or what to worship remain the difference from younger religions that favor conversion by force. Blood continues to spill, but mainly in one direction.
Of course, the loudest voices don’t speak for all. For every illegal immigrant arrested for murder, drugs, rape, or whatever, there are dozens, scores, hundreds who are keeping their heads down trying to assimilate. For every Somali con artist stealing from the taxpayer, there are communities trying to survive. For every jihadist shooting into a crowd, a thousand followers of Islam are raising families and holding down jobs.
And for every addle-pated leftist dominating a microphone, there are millions of ordinary Americans dashing through the snow trying to enjoy the season.