Gail and I were shopping in a mall yesterday. I stopped by the table where the Ontario County ARC were doing gift wrapping. I asked this very nice lady what "ARC" actually stood for, having often seen their busses. She replied something like, "Well, originally it was Association of Retarded Citizens but that is no longer politically correct, so it's simply ARC."
We enjoyed a little banter about political correctness and said "Merry Christmas" to one another, after all it's a free country. It made me think about all this and here are some of my thoughts.
I am a caucasian and when I see a negro I see differences.... but I also see that we share one God and have been created equal with unalienable rights.
I am able-bodied and when I see someone disabled I see differences... but I rejoice in their amazing adaptations, such as the blind man who walks with confidence using a stick or a guide dog. I am in awe of their special abilities.
I am a Christian and when I see a Jew I see differences... but I remember that we share the same God, the same roots, and I pray for them all knowing He will hear my prayer.
I am peace loving and when I see a terrorist I see differences... but I know in my heart that if they turn from their sin they, too, can have eternal life. If I can forgive them there is always the hope that they, too, will see the right path to eternal life.
I am a man and when I see a woman I see differences.... but I know that when a word such as "chairman" is used it is genderless, having worked under the chairmanship of many a fine woman.
I speak English and when I learn a little of a foreign language I hear differences.... but when I learn about the culture of another through their own language I find out things about them I would otherwise not know. There are words in other languages for which there is no English word. You try and translate the word "shalom." (See image above) Knowing these things enriches my life and allows me to seek that humility that is so hard to achieve.
In the end, taking offense at words used that are not nor never were intended to insult is just plain silly. To stop me from saying Merry Christmas in a country which espouses the principle of freedom of speech is so wrong that maybe it's time to fight this so-called liberal notion of remaining politically correct.
If you are insulted by my thoughts then forgive me. I do not intend to insult.
If fear of being called a racist prevents me from befriending a black man, an Arab, an occidental or anyone else who Christ commanded me to love, then that fear is itself a sin.
May your God protect you and keep you!
