Posted on 12/08/2005 6:53:39 AM PST by SJackson
American liberals should listen to conservative whining about the 'war on Christmas'.
Whenever the calendar turns to December, the air usually becomes thick with the sound of American Jews whining about the holiday season.
For some of us, this is the time of year when we are forced to confront the reality that, despite living in a country where Jews are free not only to assertively practice (or not practice) their faith, we are still a small minority.
That means wherever we move about this free land, we are subjected to the ever-present sight of Christmas trees and Santas while our ears are assaulted by the non-stop playing of saccharin carols. Though such displays are a manifestation of the desire of merchants to move consumers to buy things, rather than any lurking conversionary agenda, that hasn't prevented the "December dilemma" industry from making a meal out of any real or perceived slight to Jewish sensibilities.
Those Jews who are secure in their faith and identity aren't threatened by Christmas. But since insecurity always trumps common sense, the "dilemma" continues to generate angst.
But recently the sound of Jewish complaining has been drowned out by another contingent of malcontents: Christians who claim that church-state separation mania has transformed the celebration of Christmas into a forbidden activity.
Conservative pundits have united to seize upon the trend of calling Christmas shindigs "holiday" parties as proof that the ACL has outlawed the biggest Christian holiday of the year.While some might consider this merely a polite way of including the non-Christian minority in what has become a largely secular celebration, the conservatives do have a couple of points.
Calling symbols that are clearly associated with Christmas anything but that is simply stupid. You can call these trees and all the rest that goes with them anything you like, but they are about Christmas, not anything else. Removing the name doesn't make them less Christian and only offends believers.
Moreover, Christianity is not America's problem. The freedoms that all Americans enjoy here do not exist in spite of a Bible-based Christianity, but to no small extent because of the faith and values of Christian Americans.
Part of the problem is that the courts have struck some odd compromises over the years about Christian symbols. While banning the establishment of a particular faith, judges have rightly perceived that the First Amendment was not a mandate to cleanse the public square of religious symbols. Nor could any court in its right mind expunge Dec. 25 from the list of federal holidays.
But rather than admit that the day off postal workers get for Christmas is to honor what more than 90 percent of Americans believe is the birthday of their Messiah, our robed judicial masters like to pretend it isn't a religious holiday. That's why Christmas symbols such as trees and Santas are considered secular and entitled to place on public property.
Yet when a city like Boston officially refrains from calling the massive tree on Boston Common a Christmas tree, it justifiably provokes derision. So, too, would any attempt to ban the word Christmas from displays in a misguided effort to make non-Christians feel better. It's especially dumb when you consider that no one tries to rename the Hanukka menorahs that are often placed besides the trees in public spaces.
BUT TO listen to all of the screaming about "de-Christmasing Christmas," you have to wonder what's really going on? Amid the avalanche of Santas, trees, creches and other yuletide icons, you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know that you are living in a Christian country, if not by law, but by custom.
My advice to those Christians who are feeling threatened is to put themselves in the place of a non-Christian toddler this time of year. Mind you, my four-year-old and her parents are just fine celebrating our own holidays and have no problems with some of our friends knocking themselves out for Christmas. But as my daughter could tell you, most of the people she sees on television or elsewhere aren't getting ready for Hanukka.
So what's really causing people like Fox News personality John Gibson to write a book claiming there is a "Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday?" Do Gibson and fellow Fox provocateur Bill O'Reilly really think Target, Sears and Costco are trying to undermine faith when their ads wish customers "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas?" Maybe. Or have they just spent so much time listening to Jewish whining about December that they've started to copy it? It seems that Rev. Jerry Falwell and O'Reilly are just aping the "dilemma" paranoia routine that liberal Jews have perfected.
But as easy as it is to make fun of all of their carping, something real lies behind it. Ironically, just at the moment when Anti-Defamation League director Abe Foxman accused Christian conservatives of plotting to extinguish religious liberty, the same people that he (and most other liberals) wrongly believe are on the verge of overthrowing the Constitution, think they are the ones whose liberties are on the chopping block.
To listen to Christian conservatives these days is to hear the cries of a segment of the population that believes they are being thoroughly marginalized.
Despite their numbers and political strength, the Christian right's self image is that of a group that has been stymied on social issues and being driven out of the mainstream. Anyone in America who reads daily newspapers or watches television or the majority of film releases could confirm that their views on issues such as gay rights and abortion have been treated that way.
Thus while, the notion of a "war against Christmas" is farcical, the insecurity that drives such foolishness is not. It is based on the same sort of reasoning that drives their opponents on the other end of the ideological spectrum. That ought to give liberal activists pause.
Perhaps what this country really needs at the end of the calendar year is not so much a holiday season as a cease-fire. Instead of using each other as bogeymen to rally the troops for the culture wars, maybe both extreme separationists and hard-core conservative Christians should realize that the fears and insecurity felt by the other side are real.
Rather than being so quick to go to the barricades against their fellow citizens, true believers of all creeds (both religious and secular) must understand that the public square of our heaven-blessed republic is big enough to hold us all.
The writer is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. jtobin@jewishexponent.com
This article makes no sense at all. Furthermore, I am a little sick of non-Christians who see "Christians" fighting for a little respect as right-wing or conservative. We all know that the MSM sees any Christian who actually believes and "God forbid", follow their faith as conservative and right-wing. What utter garbage.
I don't hear Christians complaining about Menorahs or other non-Christian symbols during the season. I also see no problems with stores extolling the virtues of "Christmas in August" when they want to advertise a summer sale.
Maybe this will work. Let's rename dreidels to "Holiday Tops", and Menorah's Holiday Candleabras, nor can any of them have Hebrew letters on them. In the meantime, I will continue to have my own Christmas parties and anyone who is offended by that, will be encouraged not to attend. I don't want these pathetic, miserable people bringing my party down!
The stores that find my faith and the name of the holiday I will be celebrating on December 25th offensive, will not receive one dime from me. I guess I won't be shopping at Target and Wal-Mart this year. I wasn't planning on it anyway.
Knock yourself out. I'm too busy preparing for the holidays.
I guess I won't be shopping at Target and Wal-Mart this year. I wasn't planning on it anyway.
That'll teach 'em.
I don't think so. After all, it is not morning everywhere. Plus, most people in this country appreciate afternoon more.
ROTFL :~D
"at the end of the calendar year" what year would that be sir? 2005 years since what?
Personally, I have no problem wishing my Jewish friends "Happy Hannukah". Ironically, Jews have been among the strongest supporters of Christmas and, IMO, they have benefitted from it. Having a nativity scene side-by-side with a Menorrah on public land is the perfect way to honor the traditions of the season in a country that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.
The recent anti-Christian attacks on Christmas were not initiated by Jews, but by anti-American, anti-Christian leftists. America without Christmas would be like the earth without people.
ROFL - you beat me too it!!!!
I personally did not have a good morning this morning and it's not over yet.........
Well, I'm a morning person, and I am sick and tired of people complaining about morning and failing to acknowledge my right to enjoy it!
~sip~
ROFL!!!!!
I had taken a benedryl last night and was still in a fuzzy brained state this monring - and then had to deal with the danged phone company........still haven't gotten anywhere with them, I've gotten disconnected 4 times........
So this morning I am tired of people who are morning people :)
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Did you know Hair works the morning shift at the phone company?
OK, Mr. Tobin. It's farcical, driven by irrational insecurity.
So, we'll just have to assume that renaming the Menorah a "holiday candelabra" will be utterly inoffensive to you as well, no?
I want to make sure I fully understand his argument. Now that his side has mostly won the cultural war removing religion from the public square, and the other side is begining to fight back, we should call a truce and live with the status quo.
Like a frog in a slowly heating pan of water, the Christians of this nation have finally woke up and said enough, and they are the one whining.
Yeah, I think I understand it now.
~snort~
This is a plot to get rid of all symbols of Christianity. We should be angry. It is way past time. We did nothing when they took prayer out of schools and look at what has happened to them.
I don't think so. After all, it is not morning everywhere. Plus, most people in this country appreciate afternoon more.
"Good" morning is something of a forward-looking statement. As you know, forward looking statements carry with them a degree of risk.
Certain sections of your post contain forward-looking statements that are based on expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as “good,” “morning,” “happy,” “holiday,” “merry,” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include but are not limited to projections of time, type of morning or perception of the quality of the morning. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict
A lot of the stuff Tobin writes is like that. He seems to be in a quandary.
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