For far too long Western society has imposed its inherently exclusivist calendar system (A.D. anno Domini ("In the year of our lord") & B.C. ("Before Christ")) on the rest of the world, forcing people from a myriad of cultures, religions and societies to implicitly accept a Christian-based view of history. A view, it should be pointed out, that has been shown to be historically inaccurate.

The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus and adopted by the early Church, where it was combined with the Julian calendar, spread to the rest of the world by sword or sermon until it became the de facto method for dating historical events, this despite the existence of numerous, often more logical, native calendars.

In the place of B.C. and A.D., I propose the adoption of the more inclusive and less ethnocentric B.C.E. ("before the common era") and C.E. ("common era"). This system, while still relying on the modified Julian/Gregorian calendar for dating historical events relative to one another, has already gained some traction within scientific and academic circles, and would simplify the logistics of such a widespread change.

For many people, particularly nonChristians, being forced to implicitly accept either the divinity or the historicity of the Christian messiah is as distasteful as it is unavoidable. It is time for Western culture in general and this nation in particular to accept that it is not alone in this world, but rather a part of something greater and more inclusive.