It has become trendy to say, “Have a blessed day.” Store clerks, waiters, and others who say this are probably just trying to be courteous. But I wish they would stop. It’s annoying.
I’m fine with people wishing me a nice day, or a good day, or a happy day, or a fun day, but please do not insert your theological predilections. I am an atheist, and when someone pushes their godly malarkey onto me it makes me want to enter debate mode. Unfortunately, people invariably chirp “Have a blessed day” in a context where I am not free to enter debate mode. My typical reply is to nod and say, “Shalom.”
I understand most of these people are not trying to be obnoxious. But whoever started this “have a blessed day” trend was probably some fanatical preacher or religious nutcase who thought to himself, “How can I ram my religion down other people’s throats without seeming like the kind of rude, self-righteous prick who tries to ram his religion down other people’s throats? Oh, I know. I will say ‘Have a blessed day.’ Anyone who publicly objects to that milk toast phrase will seem overly sensitive. That leaves the sinners who are resistant to my religious perspective with no escape from my proselytizing. I am just so amazingly clever!”
I would like to tell the originator of the “Have a blessed day” meme that it really isn’t all that clever. It’s just annoying.
Besides, the person who habitually sings out “Have a blessed day” seems either phony or maybe slightly high on drugs. He or she typically has the glazed eyes of someone who belongs to a fringe religious cult.
Actually, that may not be far from the truth. People who make a habit of dropping godly references into their everyday speech often are the kind of people who belong to wacky churches. When I refer to a “wacky church,” I mean the kind of church that teaches that biological evolution is “just a theory” and that the Big Bang is atheistic propaganda. Let’s be frank. If your church teaches against evolution or the Big Bang, you belong to an ignorant cult.
If you are offended by that statement, get over it. And have a nice day.
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