The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

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The Hawkeye March 2024 issue
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Perilously politically correct

Political correctness sucking the fun out of the holiday season

As Dr. Seuss has said in “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,”

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons,
it came without tags.
It came without packages,
boxes, or bags. And
he puzzled and puzzled
‘till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought
of something he hadn’t
before. What if Christmas,
he thought, didn’t come from a store? What if
Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”

The Grinch understood that Christmas is not just a word. He even knew that it could not be bought it stores. This has not been the case these past years here in the United States. Our nation has been
bombarded by political correctness; our desire to prevent offending others is growing. Instead of calling a person a “garbage man or woman,” one would say “sanitation worker.” Although these terms sound much kinder than otherwise, names don’t change reality.

Political correctness censors a person from truly expressing themselves to protect the minority, and with that it restricts the language people can use. One of the biggest controversial examples is saying
“Happy Holidays” instead of saying “Merry Christmas.” As a majority, avoid saying “Merry Christmas,” because it feels like one is oppressing the minority. But because of this, our holiday spirits are hindered and unshared with others whom celebrate other holidays, and therefore, not recognizing
other cultures by saying “Happy Holidays.”

Of the 100 students surveyed here at MTHS, 95 students celebrate Christmas, two students celebrate Eid, three students celebrate no winter holidays, and none surveyed celebrated Hanukah and Kwanzaa. Though this is not a scientific study of students here at MTHS, it is clear to see that the majority celebrate Christmas. These 95 students will be wishing their peers a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Eid” this holiday season. However, if they knew the person does not celebrate the same holiday, 76 of the 100 students would say “Happy Holidays” instead. This result shows that for every four students, three would say “Happy Holidays.” The reason is because they are afraid of offending the person.

This brings up another question. What would it look like many years from now here in United States, when more and more immigrants come to America from the four corners of the world? These immigrants with their own holidays and culture— would we, say “Happy Holidays” as to not offend them? Would more and more Americans say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” or other specific holiday greetings? Political correctness is using terms that would not alienate anyone outside of the majority. It is affecting our way of celebrating holidays, stifling it, to make sure no one feels upset. It turn, it makes people say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” and “holiday tree” instead of “Christmas tree.”

Why are we limiting our holiday spirits when as mentioned, names do not change reality? The United States of America, full of culturally diverse citizens, should respect the many cultures. That does not mean they should go about and be politically correct. It means that they should not avoid the cultures
present in America by saying, “Happy Holidays.” Americans should be proud to say their holiday greetings, proud to know that United is not just of one culture but of many cultures that make the United States. By being able to say, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukah” or others, people are not excluding another individual. They are saying this nation is made up of many people that come from different backgrounds, and they take pride in that. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

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