For the most part, Americans enjoy Christmas. Sure, there are frustrating things – what to get that great-aunt who already has everything; is your sister the same size she was last year… Traffic is hectic; malls are crowded; and you’ve heard “Twelve Days of Christmas” 57.5 times in the last 3 days. But overall, Christmas is a time for family, a time for reflection, and a time to set the diet aside and enjoy the homemade goodies. Stressful, yet fun. Something to look forward to for so long, and yet breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over.
What is your take on Christmas? Is it too commercialized? Is it better to get back to simplicity, or is it too much fun to rush rush rush during this month? What about those people who claim they are offended by any mention of “Christmas”?? First it was “Xmas,” and now they want the word “Christmas” to be wiped out of the dictionary. They want everything to be “holiday trees or winter celebrations.” Every year, there are stories of Christmas coming under attack in some form or other. Personally, I thought that Grinch was a bad character in a book, not someone to dictate how the world at large should celebrate Christmas.
Right now, there is a breaking story in Greenville County, South Carolina. I was listening to the radio when a French teacher at Mauldin Middle School called in to WORD radio (News radio 1330, a talk radio). This teacher happens to be a leader of the Beta Club. The Beta Club heard of a family who was in need this year, and decided to get a gift card for them as a Christmas present.
When the teacher applied to the school for use of the Beta Club funds, he was told “please do not refer to the gift card as a Christmas present. In fact, we’d rather you not even give a gift of any sort in the month of December” lest anyone be offended. The teacher called into the local talk radio and told his story. As soon as this story broke, a flurry of activity began. Calls and emails began pouring into the news talk radio station. Listeners were furious and wanted to know what the school board had against Christmas. The news department at the radio station began contacting the school board attempting to get to the bottom of the story and find out what the real deal was. The only replies were short messages saying there was a misunderstanding. No one from the Greenville school board has tried to get it cleared up or give explanations.
Greenville’s news station 7 is now about to feature this story. Tonight, they will air interviews on the local news. What will come of it? Russ Cassel has vowed that if the school board does anything to harm this teacher for calling into a news talk radio station, Russ will personally deliver this story to the nation. He will send it to Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Russ is determined to get the word out. Stay tuned for the results of this breaking story.
