Free Speech and Expression of Holiday Greetings
The position taken in this article relative the expression of holiday greetings is solely my opinion and is not meant as an official interpretation of the laws as they stand today.
This article is being written to address the restriction of specific holiday greetings such as Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and others. The right of free speech as identified in the 1st amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives individuals the right of free speech. The language of the first amendment is stated below:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
This article is being written to express disappointment in the fact those individuals, companies and organizations have been restricted from giving holiday greetings, as has been the practice in this country for years. Today individuals and groups are complaining about reference to specific holiday greetings such as Merry Christmas. We have come to the point in this country that when someone complains about something we take measures so we do not offend any one group or individual. This occurs most frequently in companies doing business with the public. People or organizations that complain about our freedom to express holiday greetings based upon our beliefs and past practice should not intimidate companies. We have the right of free speech and as long as it does not violate the rights of others and laws, we have the right to say any holiday greetings that we choose to express.
Free speech limitations only involve expressions where the content violates established laws such as slander. We cannot make false or incomplete statements against individuals or organizations. If we do so we are subject to being sued, as should be the case. Expressing our holiday greetings does not violate these conditions. We should feel free as individuals and companies to express the holiday greetings that we have practiced in the past. Any attempt by individuals or organizations to restrict this right should be fought.
When companies succumb to pressures from individuals and organizations to change the way they have operated in the past does not speak well for the management of the organization. Companies should stand up for their right to express their holiday greetings as they see fit. The attempts being forced on companies for fear of offending someone is, I believe, an effort to restrict another right we have and that is the right of exercising our preference of our religious beliefs. While there are those who have no religious convictions, they should not be offended by our expression of holiday greetings. We respect their right to not believe and they should respect our right to believe and express holiday greetings as we deem appropriate based on our beliefs.
In summary we have the right to express holiday greetings as we feel and people should respect this right as we respect their right to not believe. We have great rights of expression under the 1st amendment and as long as other laws are not violated, we should freely exercise our rights of free speech and exercising the rights we have for our religious beliefs. Attempts by individuals and organizations to restrict these rights given to us by the U.S. Constitution should be fought. We need to get back to the way things used to be in exercising the rights we have under the constitution and not allow individuals or groups to impose their beliefs or non-beliefs upon us. We should not be restricted in expressing our opinions and beliefs simply because someone feels offended. In this respect the laws may need clarification as deemed by our elected officials to clearly state the rights as identified in this article.