Liberals Hate Christmas
Yes. You read right. Liberals hate Christmas. They want nothing more than to secularize and dilute Christianity's most cherished holiday into a meaningless day where everyone has a chance to celebrate his or her own "quasi-holiday" while championing none over the other. It's a celebration for everyone!
Did I piss you off? If you side to the left, no doubt you were chastising this notion. If you side to the right, your hatred was channeled towards the left and chalked this statement to your never-ending collection of ammo to use against the left the next time you're at a dinner party with some liberal "friends."
See how easy it was for me to rile you? That's exactly what John Gibson's book, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought does to you. It turns you into a seething pit of anger, ready to unleash on something.
This book has to be the most ridiculous thing I've heard since Ann Coulter said liberals like to eat their own children [okay, maybe she didn't say that, but it's not too incomprehsible that she would say something like that].
Did I read the book? Nope. Don't have to. All you have to do is read some blowhard's take on it and there you have it-a convenient, packaged reason why you need to hate the left. Besides, why would I waste my time on some anti-intellectual trash? I've got more important things to do. Nonetheless, since it does chastise liberals there will be some folks out there reading it; hence the reason I felt compelled to write about it and debunk Mr. Gibson's crazed thesis.
Now let me explain to those of you who might not understand the liberal take on this: liberals love Christmas. It's a great time to spend with your friends and family, and give (not to mention receive) gifts. Liberals do not hate Christmas.
Liberals, however, are a bit uncomfortable about completely unrecognizing other people's holidays. We realize there is a Hanukkah. We realize there is Ramadan, even Kwanzaa. We simply don't want to throw Christmas down everyone's throats and if you don't celebrate it, we don't believe you are the devil-incarnate.
IMPORTANT REBUTTAL ON THE "MERRY CHRISTMAS" TO "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" PHENOMENON: The book claims "liberals" are secularizing the holiday and removing the
name "Christmas" from the holiday. This can't be further from the truth. Take a look around you. Where do you see "Happy Holidays" signs? STORES! Yes, that's right, everywhere from your local Blockbuster to NBC will state "Happy Holidays." These are BUSINESSES, the instruments of capitalism! Which party throws its relentless pursuit towards supporting capitalism? REPUBLICANS! It's obvious businesses that use the "Happy Holidays" moniker
instead of "Merry Christmas" want the business of those who might be offended by such Christmas-usage.
So, in a nutshell you can thank Republican-capitalist ideals for watering down "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays" by appealing to the lowest common denominator.
7 Comments:
csc--
Why should using the term "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" insult Christians? Is Christmas not a happy holiday and therefore excluded from the salutation? Or does lumping Christmas in with other holidays like Hanukkah blasphemize the celebration of Christ's birthday and relegate it to a status side-by-side with infidels? Something tells me that it's the later that upsets you. Is it not enough that Christmas is ubiquitous everywhere throughout our society? Not enough that there's an enormous Christmas trees in Rockefeller Center and our nation's capital, and endless commercials referencing Christmas? Not enough that all public schools get the stretch between Christmas and New Years off, or must we make sure everyone says "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays"? Or do you need to segregate Christmas from a few other holidays that exist around the same time simply for exclusive purposes?
One would think that the use of "Happy Holidays" would please Christians rather than anger them. Face it, we all know that "Happy Holidays" is synonymous with "Merry Christmas"--only that it allows non-Christians to participate in the festivities when they might not otherwise. It's an icebreaker for Christians to convert others.
I think the source of this Christian arrogance is the need to turn everyone into Christians. I can't think of any other religion that emphasizes recruitment so fervently. Judiasm is very exclusive. I'm not familiar with Islam's conversion practices but something tells me they're not arbitrarily knocking on people's doors and handing out pamphlets. Christianity is constantly in "we must convert everybody" mode and whenever something stems contrary to that mindset it is condemned.
I don't believe that you're in a position to debunk Mr. Gibson's crazed thesis if you haven't actually read any of it.
Sounds like you've cheated with the "cliff notes" explanation by reading someone's review of the book instead of reading it yourself.
I've never even heard of it and don't give a flying crap about it, just stumbled upon your site and wondered how you felt fit to review something you haven't read.
Then I saw your comment to the "christian" who commented, and was bothered by your response about Christians' arrogance and attempt to convert everyone.
I'm not an overt Christian, was just raised as one, and your reponse bothers me.
The problem the commenter has is one I can relate to. We Canadians have been disallowed to say Merry Christmas when we celebrate Christmas, and have to instead say Happy Holidays, while everyone else is allowed to say happy kwanzaa or happy chanuka, or happy whatever.
We are supposed to change our customs to appease the immigrants coming into the country (in case they don't celebrate the same occasions).
However, not only does every other religion get to have the statutory holidays of the Christian religion, but they also get their own holidays off to celebrate. And they can still call their occasions by their names and we can't.
How about going to some country outside North America and seeing how well they cater to us changing their customs so that they can embrace us. Ya, that'll happen.
I believe the biggest problem in North America is the quest to cater to everyone else's wants instead of letting us all have our own Happy Holidays and calling them by their respective Happy Holiday names.
I don't find the term Happy Holidays insulting, I find it discriminatory that I'm forced to change my traditions for someone else who is not forced to do the same thing.
Oh, and the conversion thing? It's never been a Christian coming to my door trying to shove their religious beliefs down my throat.
CSS, of course, is a lunatic. The only way anyone could conclude that this country houses some sort of anti-Christian war is if that someone is incapable of porocessing reality. For the love of God, Christmas is so embedded into the culture that Jews commonly send each other Christmas cards, because at that time of year sending Christmas cards is simply what you do (I'm Jewish.) We have office Christmas parties. We go on Christmas vacation. This is all part of the thinly veiled hate speech that masquarades so often as Christaianity among the virulent socisl conservatives (interestingly the liberal devout Christians I know, including relatives, are all kind, warm, and inherently "Christ-like." You don't seem to hear hate speech from the Christian left.)
Christmas is almost as much of an American instituion as Halloween.
Liberals are in no way trying to kill of Christmas, or Christianity. I would bet you that a majority of self-identified liberals in this country are also practicing Christians.
No one wants to keep Christians from practicing Christmas, no one wants Christmas or Christians to go away (well, I do, but that's just me). Liberals, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Atheist or Agnostic simply want the government to stay away from religion in every way.
This nation was founded on the principles of the Enlightenment, not Christianity, lets keep it that way shall we?
Oh, and csc, they do still celebrate Christmas at schools, they still have Christmas decorations, as well as Jewish and Islamic traditional decorations. Maybe that's what bothers you, that you believe your child's faith is so flimsy that learning about someone else's practices will convert them. Or is it that you're projecting fears for your own faith on your child? Goddamn, everything about being a GOPhuck is linked to insecurity in some way.
And Bri, Islam is pretty die hard about converting people. Just nit picking on that one, but the Turks ran through Eastern Europe up until the battles with Vlad the Impaler (Dracula)trying to convert all the infidels.
Canada sounds like a strange situation. Must suck to be a white christian there. All by your lonesome. Get over it! No one anywhere at any time has ever said "you can't say Merry Christmas to your friends". Sure, the government can't say it, stores would be wise not to or risk losing Jewish and Islamic dollars (not liberal pressure, capitalism motherfucker).
Look at me, the poor oppressed Christian. Please.
"THAT is what he means by made up."
Um, pardon me for stating the obvious, but isn't every single holiday "made up?"
Columbus Day--Made up By Congress
July 4th--Ditto
Memorial Day--Ditto
MLK Jr. Day--Ditto
Christmas--Made up by the Roman Catholic Church for the primary purpose of converting Celtic and Pagan regions, therefore the reason that Christmas is near the Winter Solstice, the Pagan holiday (which, guess what? Made up by the Pagans).
EVERY holiday is "made up."
When are people going to stop smoking the crack and stop letting other people think for them?
The stupidity and hypocrisy amazes me. Try thinking for yourself once, you'd be amazed at the results.
...and for the one who's never heard of a Christian trying to convert them...what a sheltered life. No Jehova's Witnesses up there?
and CSC is just a conservative, hate-filled troll that apparently gets his rocks off on calling names and commenting on every "left of center" blog. Most of it is pointless ramblings of someone who should be Rove's replacement. God knows he's brainwashed enough and doesn't think for himself.
Laziness is the path to all loss of freedom. And that includes not thinking for one's self.
I think there's a little truth in everything that's been said. As a lifelong liberal, it's just this mindset of pussyfooting around subjects which is why the general populace sees the Democratic Party (of which I'm apart) as having no focus and standing for nothing. Does that mean liberals and Dems should promote only Christmas? Of course not! But come on -- at this point in our society, Christmastime is Christmastime and that's it. A store should be able to have "Merry Christmas" signs up, and should also have "Happy Hanukkah" signs up, and whatever else they want. I'm Catholic but am also half Jewish (my father is Jewish), and I see no harm in being holiday-specific. On the other hand, I agree with Brian in that it is the Christian right's "holier than thou" approach to EVERYTHING that turns off liberals, and especially makes us defensive when it comes to a topic as huge as religion.
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