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December 10, 2005
Alaskan in Exile
by Neil Zawicki

Alert: Rant follows.

    It’s Christmas.

    That’s my attitude toward those who think all holidays should be exposed for “what they really are,” which always seem to be exploitative or religion-dominant frauds.

    Does this mean that people celebrating a traditional holiday are just simple fools with no sensitivity toward diversity? And is it really valuable to suggest to them that what they are doing and how they are doing it is wrong or misinformed? Why can’t people just groove on the season in their own way?

    I’m on this trip because I feel the biggest weakness on the Left is the compulsion to correct everybody. There are a lot of mother hens on the Left, and they don’t help the cause, which is to promote human and community-based virtues in government.

    The other day I was driving behind a car that had a proud display of politically opinionated bumper stickers. They ranged from “just say no to theology,” to “hey smokers: the world is not your ash tray!”

    That last one got me. It nailed the mentality of the mother hen liberal. And what fun is that, to run around accusing everyone of not behaving properly? It’s a drag  
 
     Another time, Beth and I bumped into a friend at the store who started talking about Thanksgiving, and then corrected herself and called it “the feast,” and then added an “or whatever.” Then we started talking about getting together so the kids could play, and I mentioned that Tuesday would be good because we would have our Christmas tree up, and then I felt like I offended her by mentioning the tree.

    Why should I feel that way? Why do we have to tiptoe around our traditions or try awkwardly to rename them?

    Why do good and happy things have to be corrected or marginalized or renamed or subjected to tedious history lessons that are always peppered with negativity?

     Doesn’t anybody remember the episode of the Simpsons, when Lisa went to great lengths to expose the town’s founder and hero, Jedediah Springfield, as a pirate and a murderer, and wanted to tell everybody the truth during Springfield Days, but thought better of it when she realized that the myth was more valuable to the town than the truth, because the town drew strength from the myth?

For the parable challenged: the message is that it’s not always good to force people out of their traditions, or to tear down the myths that enrich their lives, because good can come from unlikely places.

    And so ... it’s Christmas.  And last month, it was Thanksgiving, for Christ’s sake, and we all had a great feast and enjoyed good company and felt glad for the blessings in our lives, regardless of what really went down in the 1600s, and nobody foisted a history lesson on the group or suggested that we’re all awful white people for having this holiday. And by the way, American Indians went to war with each other, and killed each other, and stole things from each other, just like white people.

     We’re all human, and we’re taking this holiday season to remember that, regardless of what we call it or how we decorate it, so just sit down and drink your mother-loving eggnog, and quit pissing on the party.
   

 




   
















 
Neil Zawicki, exiled Alaskan, is Editor at Large for Insurgent49, a former reporter for the Alaska Star, and winner of the Alaska Press Club's 'Best Columnist' award. He is now living out the rest of his days in an undisclosed location in Oregon. He can be contacted at -  neil@insurgent49.com
- Columnists -

Editor's Desk
by Aaron Selbig

Red Alert
by Soren Wuerth

Alaskan In Exile
by Neil Zawicki

The
Bramble Bush
by Kevin Morford





- also by this writer -
Copyright 2005 Insurgent Media. All Rights Reserved.
in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership.