Stop whining about the holidays if you are not religious.

I have never had a Jew, Muslim or Hindu admonish me for wishing them a Merry Christmas and have yet to have had one bellyache to me over a nativity scene. Not one.

I have has people of other faiths wish me good tidings on their holidays and I take no offense whatsoever. In fact I am flattered that they want to share their holidays with me.

I do not say 'Happy Holidays' or whatever politically correct comes down the pike and I refuse to cop to the Gods of Political Correctness'. I say, "Merry Christmas". If you do not like that, please remember that Christmas is the time the mistletoe comes out and feel free to use mine. I keep it clipped to my shirt tail.

However I get pretty upset when someone comes along and tries to desecrate a religious holiday. Any religious holiday.

About thirty-five years ago I put on a uniform to defend the rights of everyone to practice whatever religion they want to if they want to. I have believed then and believe now in freedom OF religion and not freedom FROM religion.

If you do not have a religion, that's fine, too. Simply have the common decency to allow the rest of us to practice ours. Nobody is forcing anything whatsoever on you. You have the right to be what you want. It is part of the reason I put a uniform on all those years ago.

One of the things that seaman practice is tolorance because the world on board is a small one. We all have to work together and we all need each other. This is a big part of why I prefer to spend Christmas at sea. I spend it with men that respect one another enough to simply be big enough to share the holidays with one another with little care if the holiday they celebrate is the one they grew up with.

Generally speaking at sea, Christmas is celebrated with a big dinner and maybe a few little things because for the most part, most vessels are crewed with a majority of Christians. However, generally if there is a Jew on board the guys will wish him a Happy Hanukkah and mean it from the heart. The rare Muslim is given respect, too, as would anyone else.

One of the things I notice that is rapidly going downhill fast in this country is a basic lack of respect for the other person'e beliefs. Years ago trying to sour someone's holiday generally resulted in a pretty smack upside the head. It wasn't brutality, it was simply education and the person that received such a lesson generally manned up and took it. If he had half of a brain he learned and didn't do it again.

To those non-believers, I put the uniform on so you could continue to be non-believers. I will treat you with the same courtesy and respect you treat others with.

To those whiners out there, simply stop whining, no matter what you believe in.

Merry Christmas.






my other blog is: http://officerpiccolo.blogspot.com/ http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/