Sunday, December 18, 2005
Have Yourself a Hateful Little Christmas
OK, first I apologize. I know the mere sight of these individuals makes one's skin crawl, and its more appropriate for a Halloween blog entry than a Christmas entry, but bear with me.
Children's stories are usually simplistic, but the best one's usually have a simple element of truth to them, and that is why they endure throughout time.
We've seen the animated cartoon about the Grinch, a small hearted creature that hates Christmas and all the Who's in Whoville who hate Christmas. It's a tale about how a mean spirited creature with a heart five sizes too small, learns that Christmas is not a time about giving gifts, but a holiday about love and caring for your fellow Who.
Now, the reason for the use of conservative talking heads is to make a point about how there are Grinches in the real world. Consider, the Fox News, right-wing agenda to demonize liberals during the Christmas holiday.
Their Perspective about the holidays:
Yes, that's right, liberals are out to destroy Christmas. See, liberals hate Christ, and they hate Jesus, and they hate religion. They don't want you to celebrate Christmas because they're godless atheists who are immoral, perverse, and wish to impose a secular humanist agenda on you during the Yuletide season.
Back to reality...
So, a thought occured to me. The Grinch tried to ruin and destroy the Who's Christmas because his heart was five sizes too small, so therefore, the conservative talking heads are out to destroy Christmas because their hearts are five sizes too small as well. (And also black, but I digress.)
By saying "Happy Holidays," instead of "Merry Christmas," liberals are out to destroy Christmas. By trying to remove Nativity scences from public venues (such as government buildings and schools) liberals are out to destroy Christmas and in turn out to destroy Christianity.
The only reason I can see for even bringing this kind of b_llsh_t to the surface is not to actually point out that liberals are godless inhuman monsters, but to promote a political agenda: to demonize any group of people during the holiday season is, in my opinion, just plain mean-spirited, sinister, and the most un-Christmasy thing a person can do.
Going back in time...
A perfect example of this is in the children's classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
This animated cartoon is not about buying gifts or presents. It's actually anti-consumerist, anti-political, and it does have a Christian theme to it. It's a classic, because it has that nugget of truth in it we all understand: Christmas time is about settling our differences, laying down our swords and spears, and opening up our hearts to one another.
Wow! Those crazy angry liberals! How dare they promote such a message!
Love? Openess? Compassion? What?! What are these things these liberals speak of?
But wait, doesn't the Charlie Brown special mention Christmas and the birth of Christ?
Yes. Yes it does. So, what. It also has the message of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men.
Peace on Earth, goodwill toward all. That pretty much summarizes the idea of Christianity and of Christmas. It doesn't get more complex than that.
However, when you politicize the holiday, and skew and distort it to fit some Republican agenda, you totally undermine the spirit of the season.
"Happy Holidays" is not a phrase meant to be discrimanatory. It's all inclusive.
America is not a Christian country. It's not a Jewish country. It's not a Muslim country. It's not an atheist country. America is a country that embraces all of its peoples faiths, beliefs, and ideas by being a secular nation. Because the government stays our of respective places of worship, the people in this country can freely worship as they choose, with no government interference.
The whole "happy holidays" mantra is usually promoted by retail stores since it gets more people to buy things, particularly gifts, for loved ones. Additionally, the holiday season begins with Thanksgiving and ends with New Year's Day. So to say, "happy holidays" is verbally convenient as opposed to wishing someone a series of wishes based on all the possible holiday combinations that arise during the November-January time of year. This in turn is easier on radio and tv broadcasters since it saves them time, and allows them an extra 15 seconds to squeeze in another commercial.
I'm not a fan of the commericalism of the Christmas season. I respect that businesses need to make money, and that businesses wish to make profits and grow and expand. Christmas has become such an over-hyped holiday, the last thing it needs is to become an over-hyped and overly-political holiday as well.
The Fox News Cabal needs to keep that in mind. Christmas-time is not about who's right or wrong. It's not a time where liberals crawl out of the woodwork to destroy images of baby Jesus. It's not a time where liberals are fighting to promote a socialist/communist agenda. It's not a time where we're supposed to run out and get people gifts they don't want. It's not a time to blindly and foolishly spend money (despite the best wishes of credit card companies.)
Christmas is a time of reflection, its a time of giving, and its a time of caring. So, to the Fox News Cabal, I ask you set the politics aside for a month or two, let your hearts grow a few sizes, and to keep the spirit of Christmas in your hearts, even toward liberals.
Hard heartedness does not make the world a better place to live. Its one of the lessons Jesus taught us, and he's the reason for the holiday in the first place. Wouldn't it be nice if we honored His teachings during his birthday?
Merry Christmahanaukwanzakah to All! And to all, A good night!
(And happy festivus, for the rest of us.)
I wish you peace and goodwill this season. May you grow a little closer to your family, bury a few hatchets with your enemies, and remember to help those who need it the most.
Cheers!
