It is a late December night and the person in red and khaki, with exhaustion on their face, scans your last-minute holiday gifts with a forced smile on their face.

You force a smile back, although it is a nervous smile as you dig for that last bit of loose change to pay for the presents. Thankfully, you have enough and the receipt is printing.

Just as you prepare to leave, the cashier scrapes together all of his kindness to extend a kind gesture to you:

“Merry Christmas,” he says.

In a perfect world, regardless whether you are Jewish, Islamic, or Atheist, you would appreciate the wish of goodwill and respond by saying,

Thank you, Merry Christmas to you too! or something like that because in reality, the cashier was not forcing the Christian religion on you, he was being a civilized human being by showing kindness.

In these days of tolerance – which is a noble pursuit – many activists claim that in order to have political correctness we must conform to all, neutralizing everything by only saying “Happy Holidays” in order to not offend anyone.

This sounds like too much fumbling around with loose cannons trying to please people and living in fear of those who are easily offended.

Would it not be more tolerant and efficient if we all accepted that everyone celebrates different holidays during the winter? When they wish us a Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, or Merry Christmas they are not trying to convert us, they are just trying to be kind.The dominant religion in the U.S. is Christianity, according to the Pew Research Center 70.6 percent. U.S. People of minority religions in the United States, whether they are immigrants or born in the U.S., will just need to accept the fact that America has been predominantly Christian ever since the country was founded. Obviously there are going to be Christian influences around the country that represent that especially throughout the holidays.

This does not mean that Christmas is the only holiday that should be celebrated in America. Any holiday that promotes the spirit of giving, being together with family and honoring what life is really all about is a worthwhile endeavor. For my family and millions of others, the Christmas season is about religion however “Merry Christmas” is a kind greeting, so don’t freak out when I am trying to be kind.

History teacher Angela Gardner, who is loved for her sarcastic humor, has a parody for the winter greeting: next time you have the opportunity to wish someone goodwill, whether it be a late December night in the Target checkout line or anytime during the winter, “Always be politically correct, say ‘Happy Holidays’ or maybe don’t even say anything at all, just stare at them.”