Avoiding offense

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Nonreligious_Christmas.html

Seatac is trying to avoid offending their international customers this holiday season by putting up non-religious based winter decorations. I applaud their endeavors.
On the other hand one of my co-workers is highly offended and believes that this is why America is going down the tubes and christianity is why America exists and was created.
I tried to reasonably point out that Seatac is an international business, with international customers and it was a good idea to try to not offend these customers. I also tried to point out that America was founded on freedom from religious persecution, but that went right over his head.
I also believe that the reason America is "going down the tubes" is BECAUSE of religion: we are in a "holy" war against Islam (of course this war was not entirely instigated by us, or the entire Islam religion, mostly the fundamentalists and radicals who can't stand a place where freedom is allowed-it undermines their enslavement of their followers, especially the women). We are in a very unpopular war and we are there because our president is trying to strengthen his moral standing as a christian and rid the Islamic religion of their fundamentalist and radical leaders (not an entirely bad thing, he's just going about it entirely wrong).
Giving these people a decent education and enforcing the human rights of every human on the planet-freedom from enslavement and oppression by those in power would accomplish a much longer standing democracy in these countries that trying to force one down the throats of clerics who want their sect to accumulate power.
OK, this is a rant and doesn't entirely make sense and I have to run off to class so I don't have time to go through and make sure this is saying exactly what I want it to (not all blog statements are entirely truthful of my own opinion).
Hope I didn't offend too many of you...then again, I hope I did, maybe you will think about what it is that offends you and try to figure out why. Think for yourself dammit!