I’ve wanted to flash my credentials as a contrarian on the Christmas issue, but I’m having difficulty. I want to oppose the liberals who want to have Chrismahanukkwanzikah and yet I don’t want to exhibit belligerence to Target store greeters who wish me a happy holiday. There’s that whole “reasonable” argument about how the Pro-Christmas folks aren’t really pushing Christmas — Dave already discussed that here, and the Wall Street Journal picked that view up here (I think registration required). Here’s a snippet that bugged me:

“The idea that we should slice ‘Christ’ from ‘mas’ is un-American.”

Wait, huh? Etymology?

Overall, something does bug me about the “Quit yer whining, guys!” position, which is that it behaves as though the cultural concerns are completely blown out of the water by religious overtones. I think they can go hand in hand.