Merry Christmas everybody!
Dear Editor:
As we all must realize, Canada seems to be a melting pot of nations. Multiculturalism is a fact of Canadian life.
True, many of us were born here, yet many others can trace their roots from here, there and everywhere. Immigration has played a huge part in the cultural development of this country. There are many reasons for this.
Immigrant influx has shown itself in many ways. There are many reasons that people have come to Canada. They range from seeking refugee status to escape oppression in their homeland; looking for a better way of life and generally wanting to move to a country where there is system of democracy that allows for individual differences and freedoms that they may not have had access to before to name but a few.
Immigrants that come to Canada have, for many reasons and come to Canada to make it their home. They move here and settle. Even after being here and becoming acclimatized to Canada and to what Canada is, they are still free to honour their homeland customs of language; culture and religion. The democratic way of life allows for this.
Once again, as Christmas approaches, we face the dilemma of greeting at Christmas. It need not be an issue but, for some reason, political hacks in high places have fostered the idea of political correctness. To better understand what political correctness is we must first define it in terms that are relatively simple to understand. To that end, I offer the following definition attempt:
Political correctness means “using words or behaviour which will not offend any group of people. ... These new words are described as politically correct. The term is often used in a mocking sense when attempts at avoiding offense are seen to go too far.”
As Christmas fast approaches, we hear the same old greeting once more, “Happy Holidays!” Merry Christmas seems to be taboo or is decreed by “political correctness” to be offensive. The truth of the matter is that irrespective of where we came from, we are, to all intents and purposes, Canadian by birth or by choice.
In talking with friends and acquaintances from various countries and ethnic origins, I have found no one who finds “Merry Christmas” to be offensive or slightful and yet our political pundits dwell on political correctness. Why? It is simply because they can! For me, in this country of freedoms it will forever and always be Merry Christmas. How about you? Ron Barillaro Penticton