Aubyn Hill
IF SOME people had their way in the United States of America ('In God we Trust'), those who would want to greet their friends in a store with the traditional 'happy Christmas' would be stopped from doing so. Secularists, atheists and some multi-culturalists obviously found the common greeting with the word Christmas (which clearly includes Christ) to be offensive. The stores and shops turned out to be almost a natural action theatre for this secular onslaught given that Christmas has become such a commercialised season.
For the past few years, the drum roll has been increasing in volume against what, in liberal and secular circles, is now the vilified term 'Christian Funda-mentalists'. President George W. Bush, a professed Christian, but a conservative Republican, is castigated everywhere as the personification of evil - not president Jimmy Carter, himself a practising evangelical Christian, but a left-of-centre democrat, and one who is now loved by the liberal establishment in America. Do not forget that hate and love can change places in politics. President Carter was a figure of disgust, pity and derision when, during his administration, American helicopters failed to lift off in the Iranian desert during the early days of the Islamic revolution in Iran.
ROLLING BACK THE CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS
Those who take offence at the 'happy Christmas' greeting and would seek to replace it with 'happy holidays' are as virulently against evangelical Christians as the communists in the former Soviet Union were against these same evangelicals. Secularists on the left who preach tolerance for every kind of questionable social behaviour are beside themselves with indignation when people wish each other a simple 'happy Christmas' at this time of year. They possess a strange moral barometer indeed.
Christian fundamentalists are blamed for trying to keep the practice of children praying in schools, or reacting to the secular drive to move all mention of God from the courthouses in the United States. The very focused, vocal but clear minority of people who take this extreme secular viewpoint, seem to be oblivious to the fact that many Americans do prefer a Christian-type country -; even if most of them chose not to go to any Christian church whatsoever. They also fail to realise that Christians are reacting to their relentless putsch to de-christianise everything and remove God from public (and sometimes private) view. The last election fought by Mr. Bush put the religious question squarely on the table and a significant number of Americans who voted in the 2004 presidential election chose Mr. Bush's agenda - a real thorn in the hide of those liberal democrats who thought Mr. Kerry would pitch Mr. Bush out of the Whitehouse.
CULTURAL CLASH
In his very popular book, The Clash of Civilisations, Samuel P. Huntington - a professor at Harvard University and a senior official in the Carter Adminis-tration with responsibility for security - supports the idea that in the post-Cold War world, the critical distinctions between people are not primarily ideological or economic; they are cultural. He goes on to state categorically that: "Spurred on by modernisation, global politics is being reconfigured along cultural lines. Peoples and countries with similar cultures are coming together. Peoples and countries with different cultures are coming apart." Apparently that clash of culture is taking place in America this Christmas because of the simple greeting 'Happy Christmas'.
I lived for many years in America and was pleased and fascinated to learn about the culture and holidays of my Jewish friends. 'happy Hanukah' was a greeting they shared with me at about this time of year (generally just before Christmas) and the most sacred Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, which signifies the day of atonement, was treated with solemnity by many of us non-Jews while we were at university or at work. Similarly, I have lived among Moslems, Hindus and Buddhists for the better part of 25 years of my business career. I would certainly like to see respect continued to be shown to people of the Islamic religion when they celebrate Eid al-fitr or Eid al-adha. Or when the Hindus celebrate Diwali or the Buddhists in Sri Lanka celebrate Vesak. Many of these secularists and even atheists will find it easy to support the Dali Lama (a Buddhist) but find it difficult to allow Christians to wish each other 'happy Christmas' in a store, in a country with a strong Christian tradition. What is the Dali Lama fighting for in Tibet?
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
Here in Jamaica as we celebrate the Christmas season as a time to seek peace and joy in recognition of the birth of Jesus Christ, let us ward off the quarrels about religion and which denomination may be right, or more right. Rather, let us seek to emulate the spirit of Christmas so persistently and graciously demonstrated by Christ himself.
Let us go out and find those who need some financial, practical and spiritual assistance and help them. Let us make 'joy to the world' a really significant happening in the communities in which we live by finding practical ways to show love at this time. Let us make peace with those whom we may have quarrelled with during the year, or over many years. Let us take the time to spend time with an elderly family member or an elderly friend. Let us help those children who do not have toys and may not even understand what Christmas is about. Let us indeed find many ways to bring 'peace on earth and good-will to all men' at this time.
Until about the middle of January this columnist wishes you all a very 'happy Christmas'.
Aubyn Hill is the CEO of Corporate Strategies Ltd., a restructuring and financial advisory firm. Respond to: writerhill@gmail.com.
