I hadn't thought much about "the War on Christmas" until I watched the Dec. 3 Daily Show with Jon Stewart, on which he had his usual infectious fun with..."the War on Christmas."
It was so entertaining and invigorating to see him cast playful aspersions on Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly, and a few lesser others, I had to tell a couple of my dear close relatives who are Faux News devotees:
Jon Stewart did a great job last night ridiculing the annual hype about "the War on Christmas," which is fomented by people like Bill O'Reilly and other conservative rabble rousers. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has become one of our favorites—a desperately needed antidote to right-wing craziness. [I just don't know what got into me!...Well, I guess I knew I might get a rise out of one of them....]I decided to sit it out for a few days. And then:
First to Rise: Morris, I am amazed that you do not recognize "the war on Christmas"! When school children can no longer sing Christmas carols in school programs. It is not just a war on Christmas it is a war on Christians! Every religion is allowed to be discussed/classes on, etc. except Christianity. I could go on and on. By the way, I like Jon Stewart and I love it when he and O'Reilly get into it, because you can tell they really like each other! So, yes, you can put me in there with the "crazy right" and proud of it!
Second to Rise: I agree with [First]. I didn't know Christmas carols couldn't be sung any more! Yes, there is a war against Christians evidently and not just from the Muslims if they can no longer sing carols. The ones who don't believe in it are always allowed to leave the room. My daughter's kids did that for ages, being Jehovah's Witnesses, and not able to say the Pledge. I don't read Jon Stewart that I remember, but I love Bill O'Reilly, too. And read him when I see an article. He had a good one on how reality shows are ruining TV recently. I heartily agree.
First: [informing Second] Jon Stewart and O'Reilly have TV shows. I don't watch Stewart's, but he has been a guest on O'Reilly's show and it is fun to watch them spar. I have read some of O'Reilly's books. I thought his book about Lincoln1 was really good.
Second: There was a great cartoon in the paper about the War on Christmas: The teacher is telling her pupils, "There is no war on Christmas....Now let's gather around the Holiday Tree and sing winter carols."I didn't respond immediately, but the next day:
Second: How about The War on Christmas? I didn't know there was one till [First] mentioned it and then that cartoon appeared in my newspaper.Now I guess I needed to try to say something:
About the "war" on Christmas, I think that the cartoon you described wasn't saying any such thing. "War" talk is hyperbole. The teacher portrayed in the cartoon was simply exercising an option or following a public school's mandate under the Constitution, she was not a member of any organized effort to "wage war" on Christmas. When I occasionally write about how false I find so much about Christmas, I am NOT "waging war" on Christmas, but expressing my individual feelings and thoughts about what I see going on about me. So much of what's done for Christmas is just silly and very, very wasteful.I felt compelled to say a little more about what I thought was happening:
"The War on Christmas" seems to me to be a Fox News gimmick to keep its devoted followers mad and more receptive to their other programming.
First [rejoining the interchange]: Morris can write all he wants but there is a war on Christmas!!!
And it's not just from O'Reilly! Have you heard of the big sign the atheists put up in New York that says "Who needs Christ in Christmas?" with a mark through Christ. What about all of the stores that were not allowed to say Merry Christmas anymore? What about so many schools that won't allow Christmas carols anymore? What about the schools that allow classes on Islam but not Christianity? There are even schools that won't allow the girls to wear a cross for jewelry! So as [Second] put it, it is an all-out war on Christians and Christmas! It makes me so sad to see what is happening in our nation. I believe with all my heart that the reason we were a blessed nation was because our forefathers (for instance George Washington) humbled themselves before God and asked for His blessings.
Second: Morris, surely you've heard about people wanting to take God out of the pledge2, and you already know that Nativity scenes are being denied in some places, and in California they're wanting to remove a giant cross that's on public land. If that isn't a war on Christ, I don't know what else you would call it. People want to forget our Founding Fathers and what they founded our country on. That's what you should be writing about.
First: Very good [, Second]!
I think that what we are seeing in the public sphere is an attempt to avoid giving preference to any particular religion. Christianity had naturally had a privileged position in this country, but as the population became more diverse through immigration and other multicultural forces, it became important to remove some of those privileges. Let me remind you that one of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution (in the Bill of Rights) addresses this: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion [the Establishment Clause] or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [the 'Free Exercise Clause']...."You may still be able to watch the Dec. 3 Daily Show by going here. Enjoy.
In the retail sphere, I think what we have been seeing is companies trying to avoid offending customers (and lose sales). "Happy holidays" was mainly an attempt to seem to be including followers of different religious practices during this time of year (including pagan practices that preceded Christ and, to some extent, were simply adopted by Christianity [and are not exclusively Christian at all]). "Happy holidays" can also apply to non-religious people, who might like to be happy during the secular holidays. Ironically, it was many Christians who were now offended. I think they were offended for two reasons: (1) They had been used to their privileged position and sincerely thought they deserved it. (2) Bill O'Reilly and others (including his colleague John Gibson, who published a book in about 2005 titled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought) started stoking their dissatisfaction. They seem to have succeeded in intensifying it.
Our Founding Fathers were not all Christians or even believers3.
First [responding immediately]: Most of them were!
[and, seconds later] Okay, that is enough on this subject! We are each going to believe what we believe so we might as well shut up!
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Copyright © 2013 by Morris Dean
- How has O'Reilly's book been critically received?
- When was "under God" added to the Pledge, and what is its provenance?
- How reliable is the claim that the Founding Fathers were mainly practicing Christians?
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“God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, remember Jeff Bezos’ drones deliver on Christmas day. To save us all from Walmart’s power when we have shopped astray, oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy tidings of comfort and joy”
ReplyDeleteIf there is a “War on Christmas”, the heavy artillery takes the form of a merchandising steamroller which is apolitical. Big corporations have been converting the holiday into another way to separate the suckers from their wallets since at least the 1920s, with any remaining spiritual meaning shoved into their back pockets.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_christmas]
I recall in my 1950s childhood going to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and feeling the first stirrings of the Holiday Spirit, further enhanced the day after by the decorations going up in the stores around Union Square in San Francisco. Now the boxes of Halloween decorations go back on to the shelf space vacated by the Xmas junk, and we’re off and running for December 24th.
Bill O’Reilly’s crusade, with the rest of the Fox gang, has as much journalistic plausibility as Rush Limburger. They are just entertainers whoring for their corporate masters, with Ailes and Murdock laughing all the way to the bank. Jon Stewart doesn’t pretend to be anything but a comedian, at least having the virtue of being (with his writers) smart and funny. Considering all the great material Bill and Megyn give him to work with [http://theweek.com/article/index/254325/fox-news-has-already-lost-its-war-on-christmas] it’s almost too easy.
Sometimes I’m almost persuaded. What worries me is, I swear, I heard Elvis on the radio singing:
“I'll have a blue Christmas without you… Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree…
You’ll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white,
But I'll have a Blue Light Special Christmas”
Tom, I don't think they can hear you over the ringing bells.
ReplyDeleteOn the cash registers?
DeleteGo, Tom!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my Gawwwd, Morris, this is all over the top hysterical. You have a comedian's gift for the narrative record. But what really strikes me as interesting is the fact that Christmas idol-worshippers wouldn't be complaining about a "war" unless they were afraid of losing it.
ReplyDeleteEric, do you suppose that I just made up Riser #1 & #2? What comedic genius I might have was manifested only by my sensing that the actual email interchange among me and my two dear close relatives could stand alone, with very little editing.
Delete