The Phony War on Christmas 3
Why it’s phony. Why it’s bigoted. Why it’s intolerant.
Read about it here. In a very gentle reminiscence that brings it all out.
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December 27, 2005 at 11:37 pm
I thought this was a worthwhile essay, and I’m glad I read it but I still get the feeling that she, well, she misses her own point! She talks a good talk about inclusion but I don’t get the feeling she’s really tried to reach out and understand any of the people who are criticizing the “War on Christmas.”
December 30, 2005 at 7:15 pm
I cannot speak for her, only for myself.
What “War on Christmas”? If there is a “War on Christmas,” it has nothing to do with “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings.” Yes, if there is a “War on Christmas,” Walmart, the malls, and other retailers are at indeed at fault, but it has nothing to do with using greetings that recognize that the person you are speaking with may not share the same beliefs that you do (remember that even some Christians do not celebrate Christmas).
It has to do with equating Christmas with spending.
Does anyone who has dug into the issue think that we would have heard anything about a “War on Christmas” if John Gibson hadn’t written a book, and if Bill “I can shout louder than you” O’Reilly hadn’t decided to help him sell it, and if both of them hadn’t decided to try to distract the polity from the sins and venality of the Bushies?
No way.
The whole Fox News “War on Christmas” was
cragarbage, is garbage, and will continue to be garbage.If I have spoken too circumspectly, please let me know and I will clarify my remarks.
January 2, 2006 at 12:22 am
I don’t have much interest in what Gibson or O’Reilly have to say on the subject – maybe Gibson, if only because I don’t know what his views on religion are at all, but O’Reilly and I don’t have a lot in common on the subject and I really think he just exploits issues like these for his own career advancement anyway.
Having said that, though, I think the very fact that so many people have been so apoplectic about denying there’s any “War on Christmas” shows the need for some communication on the subject. I’d feel better about Stein’s essay if she could have said, “I talked to a Christian friend of mine who is concerned about Christmas in today’s society and she told me the following…” Instead, I get the feeling that all she knows about it is what she was Bill O’Reilly says about it on TV. (or such people as him, anyway.)
A point that really jumped out at me was when she said, “Surrounded by an ever-present Christmas carol soundtrack, I feel like a minority in American culture most acutely at Hanukkah.” I wanted to say, “Jessica, that’s the whole point: in America today, everyone’s a religious minority! There’s nothing wrong with communicating about this! There’s nothing wrong with saying who you are and nothing wrong with asking others about who they are! Where’s the tolerance in generalizing everything with meaningless Happy Holidays greetings that ignore what holiday either person is celebrating?”