As a Christian, I am outraged. This Christmas season has been absolutely desecrated and vandalized by institutions trying to undermine the Christian community in America. First and foremost, the Christmas season is a time that we, as Christians, are meant to celebrate the birth of Christ. Instead, it has been made a mockery of by companies such as Wal-Mart and Lowe's.
Normally, I am a defender of Wal-Mart as an institution. It guarantees low prices for struggling families. We have watched Wal-Mart stores move into a town on the brink of closure only to witness the re-creation of a job market able to sustain a community. Wal-Mart, though, has betrayed my trust and the trust of Christians everywhere. Recently a woman complained to Wal-Mart due to the fact that the retail giant has changed its greeting from "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays" to avoid offending people of other faiths. The woman's plight was heard by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which strongly came to her aid. The Catholic League has organized a national boycott on Wal-Mart on the basis that the company is discriminating against Christians. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said that "conservatives are fired up because they feel betrayed. Look for us to win." Bill Donohue further exposed Wal-Mart's anti-Christian policy by accessing the company's online search engine. When "Hanukkah" is entered into Wal-Mart's search engine, 200 items come up for sale. When "Kwanzaa" is entered, 77 items come up for sale. Yet when "Christmas" is entered, the returned message reads: "We've brought you to our 'Holiday' page based on your search." If this isn't clearly an attack on Christians everywhere, I don't know what is.
Furthermore, the home-improvement store, Lowe's, has been caught in the act of defacing Christian traditions. A Lowe's store in Austin, Texas, hung a banner advertising "Fresh Cut Holiday Trees." Yet, it read "Fresh Cut Christmas Trees" in Spanish on the lower half of the sign. Isn't it interesting that when including Spanish text on the banner to be politically correct, Lowe's ended up offending every Christian in the United States? It's funny how that works. In response to this blatant offense to Christianity, the American Family Association contacted Lowe's to illustrate their frustrations. The president of AFA said, "Since they can't take Christ out of Christmas, many national retailers are trying to simply do away with Christmas." Lowe's responded that it would now be referring to their 'Holiday Trees' as 'Christmas Trees' to "avoid confusion among [their] customers."
What really disappointed me, though, was to see that The University of Memphis has engaged in similar actions. On Dec. 1st, Janet Mitchell, assistant to the president of The University of Memphis, sent out an e-mail to all the faculty, staff and students of the U of M. The title of her e-mail was "HOLIDAY CARD" in big, bold, offensive letters. In the e-mail was a wonderful Christmas card made by a very talented third-grade student at the University of Memphis Campus School. The card featured a Christmas tree (not Holiday tree) in the background and a tiger cub in the foreground wearing a Santa Clause hat. Of course Christmas trees are a Christian tradition and Santa Clause's original name was Saint Nicholas. In other words, the objects in the card were of Christian symbolism. It's a Christmas card! Why then, Ms. Mitchell, did you distastefully rename this Christmas card as an "electronic holiday greeting?" If The University of Memphis is so uncomfortable with saying "Christmas" in order not to offend anyone, then why did it pick a card filled with Christian symbols? It is blasphemy to try to deceive Christians by showing us Christian symbols and calling them something else. This is outrageous and offensive. The University of Memphis, a school I love so much, has severely insulted me and every last Christian student, teacher and staff member on the campus. This offense cannot go unanswered. In this politically correct effort not to offend anyone, you have slapped me, as a Christian, in the face.
Until every student, faculty member and staff member at the University of Memphis receives a written apology for insulting those who choose not to push away God, I will not let this go. Until I know that the University of Memphis is not discriminating against Christians, I will not buy anymore textbooks at the U of M Bookstore or buy any more food at the Tiger Den. Furthermore, I ask every Christian student on campus to do the same. As Christians, we are supposed to love Christ. This is one way we can show Him that we love Him. Personally, I have contacted The University to express my displeasure. If you want to do the same, I am asking you to call 678-3042 or send an e-mail to jbmtchll@memphis.edu and let your voice be heard. God Bless Us and Merry Christmas.
John McManus
