This past Christmas season convinced me that the world is a lot stranger than even I could imagine. And I can dream up some pretty weird stuff! One joke that was circulating the web, for me, summed it all up; short version, a girl runs to her mother saying, "Mommy! Santa called me a 'ho'! Three times!". And so, in countries all over the world, Santa's in stores and shopping malls were ordered to say "Ha!Ha!Ha!" instead of the traditional "Ho!Ho!Ho!". This is appropriate since the entire notion that "Ho!Ho!Ho!" is offensive is a joke. Add to that the fact that people got it into their heads that saying "Merry Christmas" was politicaly incorrect and might be offensive to many people. Instead, "Season's Greetings" became ye ole standard wish. What's next? Will "Happy Birthday" be replaced with "Happy Significant Moment of Life", you know, just so we don't offend older people.
This is all getting very silly. So silly, in fact, that it almost becomes frightening. Who came up with this whole politicaly correct nonsense anyway? Is it all part of the whole "kinder, gentler" way of thinking? Concern about offending others is all well and good. No one should feel left out or picked on. Imagine if this rule had to apply to every single thing we do in a day. Already, many have chosen to car pool to work with a bunch of strangers. Will Mr. Gupta from accounting and Mrs. N'Guyen from secretarial be offended if you got those donuts decorated with Christmas topings? When you see the FedEx guy, will wishing him a Merry Christmas get you in trouble? And what exactly is the office's "Holiday Celebration"? What ever happened to the yearly office Christmas party? And a "no gift" rule in case someone is offended by someone else's generosity? What kind of card do you give to your sanitation engineer? It's enough to drive us all crazy!
At least the upcoming New Year's celebrations will be free of potential offensiveness. Or will it?
In 2007, there have been wars pretty much everywhere in the world, natural disasters like none we've ever seen, and weather like something from a science-fiction movie. Thanks to a scandal-obsessed press, we know more about Paris, Britney, and Nicole than we do about our own families. Canada's own rep was badly tarnished because the RCMP zapped a whole bunch of folk to death with tazzers. I guess they would have gotten less press if they had just shot people. Politicians have shown us that public opinion polls are worthless and, with that, so are our opinions.
What will the next year hold for us? Damned if I know. Like Doctor Who (above) rose tinted glasses will be useless. Like him, I'll be wearing cheesy 3D glasses in the hope that if 2008 is just as ridiculous as last year, I'll at least look just as ridiculous myself. Well, if you can't beat them, join them!
Wishing everyone a New Year filled with Peace, Happiness, Love, Health, and Prosperity. And Hope, too, that we don't make fools of us all.
Cheers!
