‘Tis the Season!

Happy Holidays my ass! Wikipedia, the free internet encyclopedia, defines Political correctness as a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense. I don’t know about you but I take offense from the term “Happy Holidays”. My response is always “Which one?” And why don’t we use “Happy Holidays” in February when there are even more holidays? Should we not use the term “Happy Birthday” because a lot of us don’t want to be reminded that we are getting older? Of not! So why are we afraid of use the name of the actual days we celebrate?

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends and clients. Happy Boxing Day to my English clients and friends. Happy Victory Day (Dec 16, Bangladesh) to our waiter in Venice, Happy Monkey Day (Dec. 14), St Stephen's Day (Dec. 26), Happy International Solidarity Day (Dec. 31), Happy Saint Nicholas' Day (Dec. 5), Happy Saturnalia for my pagan friends, Happy Winter Solstice Stephi and Connor, and for the rest Merry Festivus! This list can go on… But don’t they all deserve the respect to acknowledge something that may be near and dear to them.

What does this have to do with business? Glad you asked. Everything! If my friends, vendors and clients don’t know what is important to me should I feel good or bad about? Or maybe they should just say nothing like any other awkward social situation. But no… they jump in there and feel they have to say something because everyone else is.

Remember when your mother use to say “If all your friends jumped off a bridge would you?” Actually I did once… but that is another story. That saying never made any sense to me as a kid but now it makes perfect sense. I will not follow the crowd into the Political correctness abyss but be my own person and say what I feel.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Richard M.J. Jarosz on LinkedIn
Lone Keep Internet, Inc.