A lot of people have their panties in a bunch this year about Target’s decision to remove the exception to their no solicitation rule for the Salvation Army. I, for one, have no problem with it. I salute the salvation army for their charitable work, but the fact that they are no longer standing in front of Target stores is not a reason for me to stop shopping at Target. What it says to me is “We at Target already give 5% of every purchase to charity, we are no longer going to have our customers get hit up for more on their way into/out of our stores.” I don’t see it as an anti-Christian move at all. I see it as a consistent policy.
What bothers me far more are the stores that refuse to acknowledge the very holiday they are trying to make huge profits from. Over 90% of Americans celebrate Christmas, and exchange gifts as part of that celebration. To deny any mention of it because it is Christian is absurd. I would not be offended if someone said “Happy Hanukkah” to me, and I don’t understand why people go out of their way to be offended by the greeting “Merry Christmas”. Even if you’re someone in the less than 10% of Americans that don’t celebrate Christmas, I don’t see how being wished a good day is offensive. I for one have taken to wishing everyone who uses the word “Holidays” a Merry Christmas. No one has taken offense to me yet.
Our Target used to get overwhelmed with solicitors and not all nearly as reputable as the Salvation Army. It’s nice now that there is nobody accosting us as we leave the store. Besides I can still find the SA at the Post Office at least until the ACLU sees them there.
I agree with your “Merry Christmas” response to the blandly sterile “Happy Holidays” robotic comment by a pre-programmed store clerk who in order to keep his or her job, must bow to the wishes of the uner-retailer boss whose eyes glaze over at potential “holiday” profits at Christmas. That being said, I am still not shopping Target. The Salvation Army has always been a part of Christmas there, even in years when their solicitation policy has been in force. I have a suspicion this decision has less to do with that policy and more to do with some twisted interpretation of political correctness.
I agree with your commentary. I believe boycotts have only limited effect generally and are only useful in rare circumstances.
The top two effective ways to positively effect our culture:
1) personal choices made by the sum of Christian individuals based on corporate behavior or entertainment offered.
2) going to the polls and voting against those who do not share a belief in absolute truth or the veracity of our constitution.