'Turkey Day' undervalues day's meaning

By Sean McBeath     11/20/08 6:00pm

While we have gobbled up the latest news on the numerous wars taking place across the world, another war has gone unnoticed, slipping beneath even the lowest of radars. I'm talking, of course, about the War on Holidays.Do you remember a time when we had Christmas Break? Easter Break? Well, those glory days are over, my friends. Wring what little pleasure you can from the memories of those greater times and relish what delight you can from your "Winter Recess" and "Midterm Break."

Like so many other grand revolutions, this one began with a simple playground truth: It's not nice to exclude people. Labeling all our holidays in reference to Jesus isn't fair to the rest of the worshiping/non-worshiping world. And, even though I still can't rightfully skip class on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, the sweeping tradition of American Christianity has faded into the backdrop, turning Christmastime into "the holidays."

It's not so much the ridiculous ways we attempt to circumvent the use of any Christian references in society as the ideals behind them. (Though the use of B.C.E. and C.E. still causes me to shake with fury. Seriously, you're using the same dates as before. But I digress.)

---

---

Political correctness has surpassed its usefulness. Case in point? Thanksgiving. What's wrong with Thanksgiving, you ask? Two words: Turkey Day.

In our clamber to be the most politically correct people we can be, we have taken the war to our most sacred of holidays (or a close second). I'm not sure who came up with this travesty of American history, but I hope that they read this and are ashamed.

For what ludicrous reason do we need to rename our own holidays? Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday; we starved, we got food, we were thankful. There's no religious bias involved. Sure, the pilgrims were Protestants. But they were Americans (or their descendants would be, someday). We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in a church; we celebrate it in our homes.

The fact that we came up with another name for Thanksgiving is an exemplary symptom of how "political correctness" has outlived itself, proof that what was once an admirable fight against bigotry has become a mockery of itself.

But I don't only hate the name "Turkey Day" because of the pure ludicrousness it projects upon all who hear it. It also manages to tear down a glorious ideal in the pursuit of some grander, blander future without bias and opinion. We might as well call the Fourth of July "Fireworks Day" if we're trying to wring the grandeur out of everything.

Thanksgiving is a celebration of life and all the great things in it. And while many of us might think of the pilgrims' first winter when we sit down next Thursday, that's not really what this day is about.

So, if you hate America and the concept of gratefulness, celebrate your "Turkey Day." Personally, I love the ideals this country was founded on, and I am grateful for a lot of things, so I will celebrate my American holiday in America as it was meant to be celebrated: as Thanksgiving.

Sean McBeath is a Martel College junior and calendar editor.

---