Earlier this week someone wished me a "Merry Christmas." Shocked and outraged, I thumped my chest and declared that I am a secular liberal and I do not appreciate such vile, inconsiderate language or find it appropriate for modern discourse.

Maybe 150 years ago that sort of thing was acceptable grandma, I continued, but then so was slavery. I then blasphemed several religious figures and whacked her in the noggin.

I hope it's obvious this never happened, but if you were to listen to the pundits these days it might sound like such outrageous scenarios are entirely plausible and commonplace.

It seems as if everywhere you turn there's a new columnist or news article discussing how the PC police are seeking to have Christmas removed from the vernacular and replaced with the vanilla catchall "happy holidays." They'd have you believe there's a significant segment of the population engaged in yet another pointless debate in the so-called "Culture War," with battles breaking out in the streets wherever the words "merry" and "Christmas" are uttered together.

Bah humbug.

Not only is this a myth of epic proportions, but it's another situation in which smoke and mirrors are obscuring genuine issues like the crass commercialization that plagues our culture and the holiday season.

With all the noise generated this year about Christmas - the dirtiest word to enjoy common usage since "liberal" became a profanity - it seems we've missed the point. When someone says "Merry Christmas," they aren't trying to impose their religious beliefs on unwilling suspects or convert them to Christianity. There's no malice or political agenda working behind the scenes.

At its most basic root, it boils down to a simple one-on-one human interaction in which one person wishes another person well. Or to use a flowery, New Age description, it's one person sending the other a wave of positive energy. Groovy.

Similarly, when someone wishes you a "happy holidays," maybe they aren't under corporate gag orders to be culturally sensitive. Perhaps they're just acknowledging the fact that there are multiple holidays in a short period of time and they want you to enjoy all of them, not just Christmas, Hanukkah or whichever holiday they happen to say. Maybe, just maybe, they are being sensitive to the fact that not everyone in this country is a Christian. In which case, is it really such a criminal act to be inclusive that we should criticize them for it? Of course not.

I'm not religious, but I'd bet one thing Jesus wouldn't do is give a hoot what people are saying as long as they mean well when they say it. Especially when talking about his birthday party.

And really, in a world with as much strife and discord as ours, do we need to spend time arguing the appropriateness of one holiday greeting over another? It's more than a little ridiculous that people can't even agree to pleasantly disagree about the best way to wish their fellow men and women well.

So to all of my dear and loyal readers, I wish a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, a Joyous Kwanzaa and an all-around fantastic holiday season. And if none of that floats your boat, have yourself a Wonderful Whatever.