Adrian Northrup

After last year’s fiasco of Christmas trees versus holiday trees, the debate on political correctness is back again.

After a rabbi’s ultimatum that the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport include a menorah and lighting ceremony next to one of its Christmas trees or face litigation, airport officials took down all of its trees last weekend.

Airport officials claimed they wanted to avoid wasting public funds on litigation and without sufficient time to gather decorations for every culture’s winter holiday, taking down the trees seemed to be the most logical solution.

Although the rabbi’s request was overly demanding, a simple compromise would resolve the issue. If the airport allowed it, I am sure the rabbi would be willing to provide a menorah and conduct the ceremony. The claim that other religions would also need representation is fair, but reeks of excuse. It does not need to be an overnight addition. Decorations for other December holidays could be included in planning for next year’s display.

They said they were trying to be “thoughtful” and “respectful” of all cultures, but removing trees that had been tradition in the airport for nearly 25 years seems more than a little extreme. By being thoughtful of all cultures, they are essentially respecting none.

In two separate cases in the 1980s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that both the menorah and the Christmas tree serve a sufficiently secular purpose and therefore do not endorse (and can therefore not insult) particular religions.

Just as menorahs or kinaras do not offend me, I find it unlikely that the term “Christmas” – let alone a tree that has little to do with Christ’s birth – offends people of other religions and ethnic backgrounds. In fact, the rabbi was actually frustrated and offended by the trees’ removal. He was not protesting their existence, but wanted representation for his holiday as well. The menorah represents hope for triumph over oppression for all people, not just Jews, he said.

The fear of being politically incorrect has thrown society as a whole into a frenzy, blowing the symbols of a typically enjoyable time of the year entirely out of proportion. Political correctness is nothing but a smokescreen for our lack of understanding for each other.

To me, Christmas has always been a time to celebrate love, family and the other blessings in my life. Bickering over what symbol these values manifest themselves in is arbitrary.

Trying to accommodate everyone is a noble cause, but summing up all of the winter holidays (e.g. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.) in one blanket term degrades and ultimately defeats their purpose.

According to a Rasmussen Report survey of 1,000 Americans, 69 percent preferred “Merry Christmas,” while only 23 percent were in favor of “Happy Holidays.”

A similar survey by America’s Research Group found that 53 percent of Americans are “bothered” by stores who purposely avoid “Merry Christmas” in the interest of being politically correct.

As a result, retail chains including Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s are once again using “Christmas” in their advertisements and store decorations.

Although this is a step in the right direction for allowing cultures to coexist, political correctness is far from extinction.

Although it is possible that much of the surveyed majority held Christian beliefs, in keeping with the first amendment, we should not have to compromise our speech or beliefs because there are others who might be offended. It is impossible to make everyone happy, since there are few things in life that generate zero opposition.

At the same time, religious groups represented by a smaller portion of the population should also be free to express their culture and traditions despite being in the minority. It seems superfluous to inhibit expression of such meaningful holidays when there is no need for it.

There is no reason why there cannot be more than one religious holiday in December, nor should one feel threatened by the existence of another.

In the true spirit of Christmas, a holiday that ideally promotes tolerance and acceptance, we should embrace all holidays for their individual worth.