If you traveled to a foreign nation, let’s say Saudi Arabia, and went into a bank and a clerk or other employee were to say to you ‘Allah Akbar’, would you be offended?   Our view of that phrase (which literally means ‘God is great’) is rooted in its use among terrorists.  It’s usually that last thing a jihadist thug mutters just before blowing themselves and many others to pieces.  But, if in Saudi Arabia or any number of other nations, you might just hear it in settings that don’t involve some crazy bastard blowing themselves apart and killing innocent people all on the promise of martyrdom and 72 virgins.  And you certainly would not demand action against that employee for using the phrase, now would you?

Now, let’s apply this to America.  There are many greetings you’ll hear in America you won’t hear anywhere else.  'Y'all come back!', 'Have a good one!', or 'Have a blessed day!', just to name a few.  How many of you have been to a bank, a grocery store, anywhere, and had a clerk or employee of that establishment wish you a ‘blessed day’?  It’s a common way for folks to part company, especially in the south, with a greeting of this sort.  I hear it frequently here in North Texas, as I’m sure many of you do.  Are you offended?  Most of you will emphatically say ‘NO’!  A woman in Kentucky has found herself unemployed and embroiled in a lawsuit over the use of that very phrase.

The Daily Mail reports that Polly Neace of Kentucky says her employer, U.S. Bank, claims to have had ‘several complaints’ from customers over her use of the phrase.  The bank claims her repeated use of this phrase violated policy.  Yes, it’s a phrase often associated with Christian beliefs, and there, my friends, is the real rub.   Everything’s cool, unless you’re a Christian.  Neace is currently suing U.S. Bank over wrongful termination.  If they did indeed fire her over the use of this phrase, they are wrong and they should lose.  After all, our currency clearly has ‘In God We Trust’ printed on it.  If you are truly that offended by God or phraseology associated with God, perhaps you should do the honorable thing and give up all of your currency.  Feel free to pass it my way.  God and I have a pretty good relationship.

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