I have a rather unique upbringing as far as religion goes but I’m rather the devout believer in my own way, and I prefer not to broadcast my own understandings and try to convert others to walk a strict narrow path.  Live and let live I say. . .

However, when things such as Holidays and events like weddings or funerals come around, I practice a form of tolerance.  If you are going to associate with the outside world, you have to be willing to not only be tolerant of something you may not believe in, but be courteous to those who do.  For example, I have relatives who aren’t exactly Christian, so they choose not to celebrate Christmas much the same way that most people do.  When we send them greeting cards, we choose the Happy Holidays wordings and don’t give them things like bibles or small gift sets of the nativity for gifts (seriously that’s a bit rude to do when you know someone doesn’t believe that way).  Likewise, I’m not one who quotes scripture, nor do I care to be quoted to, but when I receive gifts like calendars or books that have things like little quotes in them or on them that contain such quotes I read them, smile, thank the person for the gift, and move on with my life.

In the past week I was witness to a gift of a calendar, on the front was embossed “Make everyday a holiday, a prayerful blessing” with a lovely antique style picture of a winter scene above the embossing.  The recipient, rather than acknowledging the gift, (a day planner…) and thanking the giver, held the calendar as though it might give him some disease and behaved as though the giver was attempting to insult him.  In reality, the calendar’s had been printed up for a large group of people and the giver thought that we (there was a small group of friends present) could use a free planner since the prices on them have skyrocketed lately.

Rather than showing any gratitude, the other recipient of the gift went through the thing page by page, pretty much ignoring the monthly quotes made by people like Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln, focusing on the few other quotes from scripture as though this were some propaganda training material for the Christian faith.

In all, I suppose the giver blew it off as just how that person is, but their continual lack of gratitude for anything they receive from another person, actually their behavior of entitlement to our group’s continual support of them in terms of food, drink, rides and supplies, has made this particular error in practical decency felt so deeply by myself.  What has happened to modern manners that we all just accept this as part of life and move on without saying anything?!

Self Portrait, June 2008