Last week, I shared a video on Facebook of a man who was incredibly offended by the Starbucks Red Cup and it’s lack of Christmas decoration. He proposed a movement, a “prank” if you will, that because Starbucks had apparently removed all things Christmas from its seasonal cup, and was not allowing its employees to wish anyone “Merry Christmas,” we should all join together and give our name as “Merry Christmas” when ordering our beverage so that the words would be emblazoned on the cup anyway. Then, to further stick it to them, he walked in wearing a Jesus t-shirt, and carrying, to rub salt in the liberal establishment’s wound.

You might be surprised that I, of all people, shared this. The main reason that I shared it was this comment that he started off with:

I believe in this age of political correctness, we’ve become so open minded that our brains have literally fallen out of our heads.

I agree with that statement, and wholeheartedly, although I could’ve done without the inclusion of the Jesus t-shirt and a gun in the same breath (while I support our Second Amendment rights, I don’t think they are, or need to be, linked to Christianity). However, I did something that I almost never do: I posted without verifying.

Bad move. Just ask my brother who reamed me for it.

Now, my brother is as liberal as I am conservative, and while we love each other very much, we disagree on just about everything, so this is not surprising. But he sent me a link to where I could purchase Starbucks “Christmas Blend” coffee, and someone else talked about how I could buy Christmas CDs at the register. Others commented on how ornaments and snowflakes do not reflect the tenets of Christianity or the birth of our Savior. They are all correct. And I even found an article (albeit from 2013) where Starbucks is actually wishing everyone “Merry Christmas.”

That actually was the other thing that stuck in my craw from the video: the claim that Starbucks employees couldn’t wish people “Merry Christmas,” having to resort, instead, to the all-inclusive “Happy Holidays.” While I couldn’t find anything at all from an official 2015 source to support this claim, I did find some posts from employees (even former employees from years past) that did.

Here’s the deal: I don’t need to be wished “Merry Christmas” from everyone to validate my beliefs. However, I think everyone should have the choice to use the holiday greeting they would like. If you’re Jewish and would like to wish me a “Happy Hanukkah,” go right ahead. If you’d like to wish me “Happy Holidays,” that’s fine, too. But, if you’re like me and would like to share a hearty “Merry Christmas,” I think you should be free to do that. That’s where I return to the statement above about being strangled to death by political correctness…the very statement that had me sharing the dang video in the first place.

We have come to a point where, in the name of protecting everyone’s freedoms and making sure that not a one is offended in any way, we have stolen many of the freedoms we are trying to protect.

I will return to my norm of verification before posting from now on. I will probably still get my one or two seasonal red cups filled with Peppermint Mocha or Caramel Brulee Latte. I will give them my real name to write on the cup, and when they call it, hand me my delicious beverage, and wish me “Happy Holidays,” I will not return it with a snarky hashtag, but a heartfelt “Merry Christmas.”

And I will mean it from the bottom of my heart.

Oh, and I will probably buy my brother a bag of Christmas Blend, too. You know, in the name of keeping the peace (on earth, good will to men).

…seek peace and pursue it. ~ Psalm 34:14 NIV