Tuesday, December 13, 2005

It's a War on Christmas, and We're Losing It

I want to write about the “War on Christmas,”
but there is very little left to say at this point.

Once it was on the “Today Show,” I think it had pretty
much run its course from the nutty, borderline
anti-Semitic rantings by Bill O’Reilly to self-parody.
Although Fox News anchor John Gibson –- you may
remember him from the O.J. Simpson trial -- does have a
book out titled, seriously, “The War on Christmas”.
(Available at Amazon – I suggest you pick one up
before they are banned.)

I would, however, point out the danger in demanding
that everyone else celebrate your holiday, and
equating lack of government support with censorship.
The logical end of this will be the government
dictating what is and what is not the proper way to
celebrate Christmas. Think I’m kidding? It’s already
happening.

In Nashville, the Mayor called the lighted tree in
Riverfront Park a “holiday tree,” instead of a
“Christmas tree.” Seeing as it was taxpayer funded,
that was probably wise. Indeed some conservatives
insist on calling the public tree by that name,
since it keeps it Constitutional.

But someone was listening to too much Bill
O’Reilly, and last week a Councilman name Eric Crafton
wrote legislation stating that Nashville “affirms
and supports the use of the words ‘Christmas’ or
‘Merry Christmas,’ instead of non-descript, generic
terms such as ‘Happy Holidays,’ ‘Winter Festival’ and
the like, when referring to Metro Government entities
or activities traditionally associated with
Christmas.”

“By using these generic, nondescript terms, it
diminishes the TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS.
And, quite frankly, I’m tired of it.”

He also awkwardly said “We’re not in the business of forcing
people — but we do want to recognize that the whole
reason for this holiday was … because of Jesus
Christ".

His resolution, states that Christmas “derives from
the act of celebrating the Mass of Christ;” that
“Jesus Christ is an actual man who was born over 2,000
years ago, as recorded by history;” that Christ’s life
and teachings have “profoundly impacted the entire
world, especially the United States of America.”


So there you have it. A government resolution
defining the true meaning of Christmas. Which is
probably right. After all, Jesus was an American, and
a Republican. I’m pretty sure.
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