With the courtyard closed, media center strictly monitored, and home too far away, I knew I couldn’t last all winter constantly skipping a meal. Beset on all sides by restrictive lunch policy, I unfortunately found myself sitting with a small group of friends in the midst of the bustling cafeteria. Prying my eyes from the sea of underclassmen, I soon found my gaze wandering to the far wall and the snowy expanse that lay beyond.

In that instant I felt a tug in my very soul, and a faded memory from years past resurfaced to haunt me once more. Where there had once stood a mighty trunk, verdant needles, and luminous baubles, there now existed only empty air and a sad memory of a sprucey aroma. The Grinch-like ways of those in power had once again punched a Christmas tree shaped hole in my heart.

Nowadays, storefronts lay out banners proclaiming “Happy Holidays”, while co-workers depart to their homes with talk of “enjoyable winter festivities.” Billboards that once depicted Christmas trees and a very merry Saint Nick now lay out a mundane scene of snowflakes and snowmen.

Meanwhile, the same stores that go to such lengths to avoid the word “Christmas” profit immensely off the inevitable holiday rush, and purchases of candy canes and wrapping paper show a definite trend in sales. Have they all succumbed to the Grinch? Is it their heart that is three times too small, or their courage?

In the world we live in today, extreme political correctness has become the cultural norm. This is perhaps most evident in the wintery months of December, when ardent liberals cry their crocodile tears over the equality of all holidays. Never mind the fact that the Christmas we know today is almost completely a celebration of consumerism, with nary a religious symbol left (but that’s a topic for another opinion article), and is by far and away the most common holiday celebrated in the winter months.

After all, we wouldn’t want to offend any section of the population by giving preference to one holiday over another. Avoiding the very mentioning of Christmas in the name of political correctness serves no purpose except to inflate one’s own ego and prove just how “socially conscious” one is.

If you are truly offended by the use of the word “Christmas” without the requisite string of “Hanukkah, Kwanza, Saturnulia, Winter Solstice, etc.” thrown in afterward, I have no idea how you can manage to live your day-to-day life without being enraged by every perceived slight against your race, gender, or ethnicity.

This just goes to show that the entire concept of political correctness is flawed. The ideology behind the extreme version of political correctness found in modern society is rooted in the premise of manipulating our language, symbols, and customs in order to avoid offending anyone. The problem is that whatever aspect of society they avoid mentioning still exists. Political correctness is a massive exercise in ignoring the problems in the world today, such as racism, sexism, poverty, and inequality, and hoping that they somehow go away if we never explicitly mention them again.

Maybe if people were confronted with language that reminded them of these inequalities, they would be more inclined to work to change the wrongs in society. Instead, we are left with “socially conscious” citizens dancing around the actual issues, and convincing themselves that they live in a country where all these problems have already been solved.

When taken to its ideological extreme, political correctness covers virtually all aspects of life, which is why we now find it turning its watchful gaze to the Christmas season. Don’t let yourself, your business, or your news organization get bullied in the name of cultural sensitivity; don’t let the Grinch steal the word “Christmas”.