If Jesus Christ had never been born, you would not be reading this column. If Jesus Christ had never been born, there would be no United States of America. After Jesus left this earth, Christianity spread from the Holy Land to modern-day Turkey to Greece and Italy and then covered the rest of Europe. In fact, Christopher Columbus wrote that his discovery of the New World was inspired by "...the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures." Indeed, if it were not for Christmas, we would not be living in the greatest country and most generous country in the history of mankind.

In 1950, President Harry Truman gave a speech to the Attorney General's conference. This is what he said: "The fundamental basis of this nation's laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and Saint Matthew, from Isaiah and Saint Paul. I don't think we emphasize that enough these days...."

Truman's message reminds me that there was a day that many reading this can remember, when the Christian value system was the common value system that governed our country. It fostered self-control and served as the basis of our laws. It was understood. It did not matter if you were a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, Christian or not (Truman was a Democrat, by the way). Today, if a President of the United States were to say the very same thing Truman said in 1950, he would be called a member of the "religious right" and publicly ridiculed for trying to mix church and state.

If Jesus Christ had never been born, obviously, there would be no Christmas celebration or even a "holiday season." Think about it. Thanksgiving Day is based in America's Christian roots. New Year's Day is based on a calendar that measures time from the birth of Jesus Christ. Or, as our Founding Fathers wrote: "In the Year of Our Lord."

The American economy depends heavily on people buying other people Christmas gifts each year. That is why the idea of "holiday" shopping is so ridiculous. No one buys gifts to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The kids don't run downstairs at 5:00 a.m. on New Year's morning. Overwhelmingly, Americans exchange gifts with friends and family precisely because it is Christmas. Ask American retailers and they will tell you -- it's the most wonderful time of the year. It is hypocrisy of the highest order for retailers to make their living from Christmas sales, and yet be too politically correct to even acknowledge that fact in their advertising, pretending that people are "holiday" shopping.

Christmas in America has always been special. That is why it is so offensive to see an obvious attempt by secularists to remove Christmas and replace it with some generic "holiday" celebration. The governor of Rhode Island changed the name of a Christmas tree to a holiday tree. Last year in Tulsa, the annual Christmas Parade was renamed "Winterfest." Examples like these are popping up more and more every year as secularists fret over potentially offending some tiny minority.

This is all about getting rid of our country's Christian heritage in the name of multiculturalism and political correctness. "Don't offend non-Christians," is the argument. Well, what about vast majority of Americans -- Christians -- who are offended by those trying to get rid of the true meaning of Christmas?

The truth is, as President Truman noted, one cannot appreciate America without appreciating our Christian heritage -- and Christmas is a part of celebrating our Christian heritage.