Is it so hard to tell someone, “Merry Christmas?” Nowadays you offend someone if you don’t say, “Happy Holidays.” Last time I checked, December 25th was Christmas.

I understand the need not to offend people, but have we gone too far? In Frisco, Texas after an ordinance was passed in June 2013 the kids at the Frisco Elementary School were not allowed to say, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah” or, “Happy Holidays,” at their “Winter Party” and not allowed to wear red and green or have a Christmas Tree. They were not even allowed to make any reference to any religious celebration.

Are we becoming a nation of drones? Are we so afraid of offending people? And do the people that we think we are offending really feel offended? Maybe a few do, but even if this is so, should this give the government the right to tell you what you can and can’t say or do or don’t do in public? How far will this go? Are we losing everything that our forefathers fought for because of the simple reason as to not offend someone?

America is supposed to be the land of the free, but how can we say we are free if we can’t even say “Merry Christmas” anymore. I know plenty of people who are not Christian that do not take any offense to hearing, “Merry Christmas.”

Last I checked you received, “Christmas presents” as a kid-not “Seasonal Gifts.” Who are we offending? Back as far as the ‘70’s the streets used to be decorated with “Merry Christmas” not “Happy Holidays.”

Even Halloween isn’t the same as when I grew up. Is Christmas next? Even store owners or clerks used to say, “Merry Christmas!” They are now instructed not to offend anyone.

If you ever seen the late comedian George Carlin’s routine on Political Correctness (performed in the late 1990’s up until his death in 2008) you know what I mean. Some excerpts from Carlin include, “Since when did toilet paper become bathroom tissue? And the dump a landfill?” His whole routine on soft language can be seen on YouTube.

Carlin’s genius foretold the future. Look at us now at the end of year 2013. Everything Carlin said about political correctness and soft language has come to pass. Are we lying to ourselves when we soften language?

I know for a fact that we are lying to ourselves when we say that Christmas is not on December 25, and it’s not Christmas Season. It’s the Winter Holidays.

When I was visiting Newport, Rhode Island, my family took a tour of the Touro Synagogue. George Washington had visited there in 1790. On his visitation, Washington stated, “In the United States we are free to worship God in any way we want.” This is in support of the First Amendment.

Have we forgotten this? Are we afraid to celebrate a holiday? Have we forgotten that we are free to celebrate a holiday in the United States in any way we want? At the next Christmas, Holiday, Winter Party I go to I just may wear red and green  while it’s still legal. Merry Christmas!     -Katherine. M.

This Editorial has been wholeheartedly approved by Carolyn Maxwell and Paul W. Wang!

The Staff of the Amboy Guardian extends to everyone a very Merry Christmas and the best of 2014 to all of our advertisers, readers and contributors to the paper.