White Boy Bob fears Blogland is becoming nothing more than a collection of inane chatter. He wants a weightier topic to discuss.

So, let's discuss the secularization of Christmas.

It's always been a concern.

I am of two minds about this. First, I don't believe that the religious aspects of this season should be ignored, but I'm not just talking about Christmas. Many cultures and religions feature a light-related holiday at this time of year, in the northern hemisphere at least, because it's winter and we have less hours of sunlight. So my instinct is to be MORE inclusive of different traditions, rather than to play a stupid game of "let's pretend it's all about sledding and snowmen." It's been proven that American children are woefully ignorant of geography and other people's cultures; I think this would be a wonderful opportunity for them to learn something new.

But I don't think retailers should be forced into anything. I think cashiers should just say "Thank you" after a customer's purchase and avoid the whole issue of "wishing" anyone anything. Stores should be free to decorate how they see fit and sell what products they think will fly off the shelves.

Likewise, customers should shop where they feel most comfortable. If a store offends you with its policies, don't buy anything there. I do it all the time. Especially you, TJ-you get a store credit instead of your money back when you return something-MAXX!

I'm just wondering why Christians are taking such a wounded tone about this. I think it's stupid for retailers or anyone else to ignore the elephant in the room, however, I think certain Christian groups have brought this upon themselves. If they want to politicize their religion or insert themselves into the public schools, they're going to have to accept the consequences when others view them as threatening rather than benign.

I know exactly where to go to hear Christmas carols and the real Christmas Story -- my church! I can tell EVERYONE there Merry Christmas when I shake their hands. Until I can no longer do THOSE THINGS freely, I'm not worried about it.