My sample column for the DTH Spring Columnist Application....
The Terrorists who Steal Christmas
Sometime between A Christmas Carol, that Dr. Suess story, and the rise of what has been come to be understood as “religious and holiday-related political correctedness,” those Grinches stealing Christmas have become analogous to a terrorists.
Yes, I of course am aware that when someone takes down a Christmas tree from a library, that person is never in a million years labeled a terrorist. To many however, the mere thought of infringing on an institution so sacred and endeared as Christmas is unthinkable to the extent that only archetypal manifestations of irrationality and maliciousness are capable (ie a Grinch).
The same can be said in the post 9/11-pre Iraq quagmire Bush years. It was quite literally framed (and book ended by a standing ovation) as “either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.” The tacit understanding there was that those pinko anti-war granola-eating people who may not have agreed with Bush’s war were in the same boat as terrorists. Now it’s almost inconceivable that it was like that a few years ago but it was. I am reminded every year however whenever someone rolls their eyes at some Jewish mother or Rabbi calling up and complaining about a Christmas tree.
The issue is not whether or not it is disturbing that one would employ loaded words such as “Grinch” in this instance. I for one admit that it works well as a light-hearted literary device. The issue is the ridiculous discourse in which such instances as a Christmas Tree removal is presented in.
As a young person who could be accurately described as a “Secular Jew,” I can tell you that I can care less if I see a Christmas Tree in a publicly state-funded library such as Davis or Wilson. You heard correctly. I, or any of us Jews don’t have any illusions that Christmas is going to somehow disappear if one of our angry mothers complains to an administrative body (though I have heard it happening since I’ve been in elementary school).
That being said, why does this perennially arise as such a divisive issue? The reason is because of the many misconceptions people (including a Nov. 23rd DTH opinion writer) have about ‘holidays’ in general. That can even include those angry Jewish mothers who call up and complain all the time.
On one side, you have those people who are revolted by anyone who takes any measure that would infringe on their otherwise jolly season. These people accurately realize that a vast majority of this country and in many circumstances local populations celebrate Christmas. A Jewish, Black, or Muslim person complains about the abundance of green and red stuff? The audacity! Well…perhaps a compromise could be made. Okay, throw a Menorah in the mix. Show off one of those Kwanzaa things with the candles. Hey, a great opportunity to demonstrate diversity and show that everyone has holidays… right?
Not so fast. Kwanzaa was created in the second half of the 1960s as a Pan-African celebration and Hanukkah pales in comparison in terms of importance to other Jewish holidays. Hanukah is not the Jewish people’s Christmas. Missing synagogue on the Hanukah might be perceived as permissible. Not going on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur earns you a year’s supply of Jewish guilt.
If this is the case-that Hanukkah is not equivalent to Christmas-why do those Jewish Grinches ask to remove Christmas trees if a Menorah isn’t there? The reason is principle. By decking the halls and what have you it communicates a message that if 90 or whatever percent of people celebrate Christmas, essentially 100 percent does. It’s the environment that leads people to ask me what I’m getting for Christmas even though they know that I am Jewish. It’s the environment that assumes that if I am not one of those people who does celebrate Christmas, that I have no problem singing Christmas carols in elementary school, being bombarded with advertisements and content in every realm of the mass media, and being fatigued by the holiday spirit quite literally everywhere I go. If one might seek to remedy this affliction by placing an incremental reminder that not everyone is cool with all this, the ultimate tragedy would be to assume that it is upon the display of a Menorah. Then again, this will all soon be over anyway.
Monday, December 1, 2008
The beginning of the end of my writing career: a primer
Ending has to start somewhere doesn't it? Just today, just very old today, I decided to exhume the skeleton of this html address and actually use it for something useful. Or maybe just to vent. Why? I applied to be a columnist for the Daily Tar Heel, the school newspaper for the University of North Carolina. I was never crazy about the paper, but was of the opinion that I could offer a fresh opinion to the incessant recyclage of themes, peoples, etc. etc. I'm an avid reader of NY Times columns so I am well aware about what a column is and does. I submitted a sample column which I had thought would be more than sufficient to demonstrate my writing ability. I was denied. Thus, the very existence of this "blog" is so I can save my dignity in my writing ability and articulate an opinion that I for one feel needs to be articulated (but hey I'm just biased).
I do not and will not see myself as a "blogger" even if that is essentially what I may do. Whenever I hear the word I irk at some middle aged TV journalist who just found out how to turn on her new blackberry and who raves about the impact that these anybodys have who are quasi-published authorities on everything from politics, media, culture, you name it. When they say blogger, it is like me referring to some phenomenon that people younger than me are catching on to that I am dumbfounded by. "These kids moving around remote nunchucks and so on, they have this thing called wii, maybe wiiiii should get that into our uninformed vocabulary...chuckle chuckle" Ironically enough, the way you probably have heard of blogs has been through some sort of mainstream media that may be turned on its head as a result of information being processed from the ground up. Just a thought.
I initially joined this blog almost two years ago in order to have a voice in the local WXYC community and its online presence. At that time blogging was in its infancy and I would write about intra-station and not realize it was for the outside world to read about us. Some of my posts were even deleted off of the WXYC blog and I compared it to the thought police or whomever of 1984 infamy. Now that I have learned from this experience, I will be able to more clearly and succinctly(well maybe not succinctly), write about pertinent material that may or may not be connected in any way. I hope this blog to be one of those machines at the grocery store in which you never know what you may get. I do not however want your prize to break after a few days.
About my writing... Sometimes, as in this case right about now, I am writing extremely fast. I started this whole thing literally minutes ago. I may or may not look back over for content and whatsoever. Other times I may be thinking so much about something that I have no choice but to map out every little battle front in my argument or statement. The point that I am making is that this 'place' to be 'published' affords me the opportunity to write in a style of my choosing at a time of my choosing. If I were to have been able to write for the Daily Tar Heel Columns, it would be a different story. Perhaps that denial may turn into something better and more fruitful.
What is my objective here? Basically just to write. I wish I could explain it in a better way but I am not capable. I have always had the urge to articulate and back my opinions for whatever reason. I want to write so that even if you are ideologically opposed or just disagree with what I am saying, you can at least appreciate the logic that exists with wholeheartedly legitimate premises and logical conclusions. So why should you read to me as opposed to any other blogger in the so called "blogosphere?" Well I only recommend that you give me a chance. That's all I can ask for.
I do not and will not see myself as a "blogger" even if that is essentially what I may do. Whenever I hear the word I irk at some middle aged TV journalist who just found out how to turn on her new blackberry and who raves about the impact that these anybodys have who are quasi-published authorities on everything from politics, media, culture, you name it. When they say blogger, it is like me referring to some phenomenon that people younger than me are catching on to that I am dumbfounded by. "These kids moving around remote nunchucks and so on, they have this thing called wii, maybe wiiiii should get that into our uninformed vocabulary...chuckle chuckle" Ironically enough, the way you probably have heard of blogs has been through some sort of mainstream media that may be turned on its head as a result of information being processed from the ground up. Just a thought.
I initially joined this blog almost two years ago in order to have a voice in the local WXYC community and its online presence. At that time blogging was in its infancy and I would write about intra-station and not realize it was for the outside world to read about us. Some of my posts were even deleted off of the WXYC blog and I compared it to the thought police or whomever of 1984 infamy. Now that I have learned from this experience, I will be able to more clearly and succinctly(well maybe not succinctly), write about pertinent material that may or may not be connected in any way. I hope this blog to be one of those machines at the grocery store in which you never know what you may get. I do not however want your prize to break after a few days.
About my writing... Sometimes, as in this case right about now, I am writing extremely fast. I started this whole thing literally minutes ago. I may or may not look back over for content and whatsoever. Other times I may be thinking so much about something that I have no choice but to map out every little battle front in my argument or statement. The point that I am making is that this 'place' to be 'published' affords me the opportunity to write in a style of my choosing at a time of my choosing. If I were to have been able to write for the Daily Tar Heel Columns, it would be a different story. Perhaps that denial may turn into something better and more fruitful.
What is my objective here? Basically just to write. I wish I could explain it in a better way but I am not capable. I have always had the urge to articulate and back my opinions for whatever reason. I want to write so that even if you are ideologically opposed or just disagree with what I am saying, you can at least appreciate the logic that exists with wholeheartedly legitimate premises and logical conclusions. So why should you read to me as opposed to any other blogger in the so called "blogosphere?" Well I only recommend that you give me a chance. That's all I can ask for.
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