tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15206615.post3726365587836160598..comments2023-09-25T05:33:46.940-04:00Comments on AVERAGE JOE AMERICAN: Merry X-mas!Average Joe Americanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06772523652958816521noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15206615.post-39135709028874028032009-12-13T20:49:40.517-05:002009-12-13T20:49:40.517-05:00I understand what you were saying. And I am not d...I understand what you were saying. And I am not disagreeing with you. (At least on the original post – not sure we are on the same page as it relates to affirmative action and the confederate flag.)<br /> <br />The point I was trying to make is that symbols are very important. Symbolism, in the hands of one who knows how to use it, is the most powerful of tools (or weapons). Symbolism is what brings tears to my eyes when hearing the national anthem. It is why we pledge loyalty to a flag.<br /> <br />And it does not matter why a particular symbol was first created. It does not matter what a particular symbol means in an intellectual sense. What matters is what the masses believe that it stands for. What the people believe that it means. Because that symbol will evoke that particular feeling in the masses.<br /> <br />So, if the masses believe that “Xmas” is a secular way to express “Christmas”, then that is exactly what “Xmas” means. I have not seen any studies on this, but it does seem that many people (perhaps a majority) believe that using the letter “X” is an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas.<br /> <br />“Gay” used to mean “happy”. But today the term “gay” refers to a homosexual. And even if you use the word “gay” in a sentence that pretty clearly shows that you are using it for is old meaning of “happy”, the reader will subconsciously flash on the thought of homosexual. So “gay” means “homosexual”, because that it how the masses view it.<br /> <br />And I suspect that even if you educate the reader every time you use the word “Xmas”, if that person already sees the “X” as a slight to Christ, then that reader is distracted from the message you were actually trying to send. <br /> <br />Perhaps, if we all started using the term “Xmas” rather than “Christmas”, over time we could reclaim the feelings evoked by the word, and a person’s emotions would flash on Christ, rather than secularism. But it is a gamble. If it fails, we may have unintentionally pushed the celebration to a more secular position.<br /> <br />Remember, the author is not important. The reader is important. What the reader interprets is what matters.<br /> <br />Happy Holidays. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15206615.post-10404904419501341752009-12-13T14:32:53.287-05:002009-12-13T14:32:53.287-05:00Thanks for your comments.
Just as the Confederate...Thanks for your comments.<br /><br />Just as the Confederate flag can only wave freely when we discard the notion of "affirmative action" and truly embrace equality, only when we as a community of Christ-followers accept the term "Merry Xmas" for what it really is can we defeat those who intentionally use the 'X' to eliminate Christ from Christmas.<br /><br />I, as an individual, have never owned a slave or discriminated against a race in such a way as the slaves experienced discrimination. And no one I know has ever been a slave or experienced that type of discrimination. It's time for us to label slavery as a fact of history and to rise above it as a nation of equal peoples.<br /><br />Similarly, it is time for we Christ-followers to rise above the attempts of others to eliminate Christ from the world and show to them, as I have attempted to do here, that their attempts are misdirected and malformed.<br /><br />If you sent me a Birthday card that said, "Happy B-day," would I infer that you were trying to remove me from my own birthday? Or that you were trying to remove the fact that I was born from the history of that day? That would be absurd.<br /><br />Merry Xmas to all!Webmasterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04997028393458886122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15206615.post-55224989672084256712009-12-13T14:05:10.146-05:002009-12-13T14:05:10.146-05:00I like your Xmas article.
But I have found that ...I like your Xmas article.<br /> <br />But I have found that the true origin of a symbol, or a word, is not what is important. Perhaps it should be important, but it isn’t. What matters is how the object is viewed in present time, by the majority of people. The emotions evoked by a specific word or symbol is what is important. For example, the Confederate Stars and Bars flag is not a symbol of racism. In fact, the Civil War was not really fought to free the slaves. But the majority of people today believe that this war WAS fought to free the slaves, and the majority of people see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racial hatred. Because of this, the Confederate flag evokes the feelings of racism and hatred. So the Confederate flag IS a symbol of hatred. And people do not want to be educated about the truth.<br /> <br />So, while I agree with you about the Xmas issue, I am afraid that the “X”, in the minds of the masses, will remain an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas.<br /> <br />For many years now, I have been abbreviating it by writing “CMas” rather than “Xmas”. And strangely enough, I have been complimented for doing that – because the “C” clearly stands for Christ. Humorous. I just smile at the comments…<br /> <br />Ignorance is killing the country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com