As December - or even November - rolls in, holiday decorations start filling houses, and to be progressive and equal, many stray away from the phrase "Merry Christmas" and say instead "Happy Holidays." Although this seems like a tolerable, friendly approach to appreciating different religions, not everyone has the same opinion. Lilit Marcus, in his text "I don't need a 'happy holidays'. Just wish me a Happy Hanukkah, please" from the Guardian, uses personal anecdotes, common holiday sights, and logical arguments during holidays to illustrate his idea that the saying "Happy holidays" is just as meaningful to him as "Merry Christmas" is.
Marcus starts his idea by laying his personal experience of growing up as the only Jewish kid in a large Christian community. By doing so, he establishes credibility that he has a certain authority to speak out this topic on a personal level. He also shows readers how neglected his culture feels at times, and that the situation is more than just about others saying "Merry Christmas" even though he's Jewish. He says that he has to constantly "explain the meaning of Passover...or be accused of 'wanting special treatment' when I took Yom Kippur off of work" (Marcus 1). He claims that matters are much worse if seen through the perspective of someone who is supposed to be benefitting from this new holiday greeting. After he shows how his culture was portrayed around his own environment, he connects it to how his culture is portrayed around many people's environment.
Currently in parts of the country, many people such as teachers and retail workers wish their students or customers "happy holidays." However, a common American retail store around the holiday season has aisles filled with Christmas decorations, but there's a lack of Hanukkah decorations available in most stores. Walking into a popular retail store in a Jewish community, Marcus saw "seven aisles of Christmas gear and less than one-third of an aisle of Hanukkah stuff," which "barely counts as inclusion. It's separate, and it's nowhere close to being equal." Since many readers are able to relate to this situation, it puts Marcus's argument in a perspective that Christmas celebrators can understand easier and gets his point across more effectively. Also, readers can realize and understand how wishing someone happy holidays doesn't solve every problem nor place all religions and cultures on equal ground.
Marcus takes these occurrences and winds them up into logical arguments that end up as his main points. Mentioning the 20-foot Christmas tree covering the "Happy Holidays" sign and the red-and-green holiday card, Marcus states that "Going through the motions of inclusion aren’t enough. Simply tolerating other cultures, religions and festivals isn’t sufficient: until we have the same amount of respect, all your pointless gestures of inclusivity ring hollow." These arguments all ultimately end up to his central point: "I don’t feel included; I’m simply reminded that my inclusion is, and always has been, an afterthought." Including these logical arguments make his points clear and articulately landed into his reader's minds, helping readers grasp this idea wholly.
As society evolves and becomes more accepting, many people have changed their words and actions to suit such changes. However, there's no one-way cure to solving a problem, as shown by Marcus, and although some may disagree with him, he asserts through personal anecdotes, common situations, and logical arguments that he still feels undermined and under-appreciated with such verbal treatment. People have changed their words - now it's time to change actions.
No comments:
Post a Comment