Designated Driver of North America
DESIGNATED DRIVER OF NORTH AMERICA - A semi-personal/semi-political blog, a Canadian view on the world. As Canadian comedian John Rogers says, "Canada is the Designated Driver of North America. The U.S. runs around excitedly blowing things up, while we follow behind with the car keys, shaking our heads."Main page | Email me
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
I love this so much. Look at this entry on the Conservative Voice website. That site is urging its readers to boycott stores like Target and Federated Department Stores (and there've been boycotts against, of all stores, Wal-Mart as well).
And why is it doing this? Why are right wing Christians [sic] so eager to boycott stores this holiday season? Because these stores are being inclusive in their holiday greetings, not insisting that everyone is celebrating Christmas at this time of year. In other words, the stores are recognizing that as well as Christmas, people are celebrating Hannukah and Kwanzaa.
Jerry Falwell and his ilk, as well, are threatening law suits (ah, that favorite American pastime and strong-arming tactic!) against anyone who denies Christians [sic] their right [sic] to ram Christmas down everyone's throats. Bill O'Reilly, the American Family Association, oh, the whole fascist gang is participating.
I actually couldn't care less if the word "Christmas" was plastered all over everything. Put it everywhere, I don't care, as long as you plaster "Diwali" around during that festival, wish people a "Happy Eid" at the end of Ramadan, and so on. Let's recognize ALL festivals, and agree that they are valuable to those believers who celebrate them.
But do you get the real meaning behind the fundies' shrieking about Christmas? Are you catching what they're actually up to, when they threaten to boycott all these stores for not saying "Merry Christmas"?
They are threatening not to participate in the annual orgy of materialism UNLESS IT IS EXPLICITLY TIED TO THE NAME OF JESUS.
They don't want Christmas associated with giving to the poor and promoting peace in the world. They don't want their sacred festival recognized by the rest of us who don't actually celebrate it. They want to force it on us, force us to actually believe it (whether we really believe it or not!), ram it into schools, trumpet it from public platforms, and most importantly of all, they want it trumpeted IN THE DEPARTMENT STORES.
Defending their religious festival? Not for a second. Defending their materialist orgy in the name of Jesus? Oh yeah.
Wonder what Jesus would think of that, huh?
**Phyl**
12/07/2005 04:46:00 PM [+]
Comments:
Reposted without the typos: (!!!)
I think you're exactly right, Richard.
I also think he'd laugh at these people's belief that they're any different from the temple money-changers in his own time, using God and his work to make a financial killing and control other people.
I always come back to that biblical quote when I see these people behaving like this. Matthew 7-something, I think, where people at the last judgememt say to Christ, "Lord, Lord, look at all the things we did in your name," and he says, "I never knew you. Depart from me into everlasting fire."
If these people's beliefs about a last judgement turn out to be true, I have a feeling they're going to be very, very surprised at who Christ claims to know, and who he doesn't.
I think you're exactly right, Richard.
I also think he'd laugh at these people's belief that they're any different from the temple money-changers in his own time, using God and his work to make a financial killing and control other people.
I always come back to that biblical quote when I see these people behaving like this. Matthew 7-something, I think, where people at the last judgememt say to Christ, "Lord, Lord, look at all the things we did in your name," and he says, "I never knew you. Depart from me into everlasting fire."
If these people's beliefs about a last judgement turn out to be true, I have a feeling they're going to be very, very surprised at who Christ claims to know, and who he doesn't.
Today in Borders Books in Detroit, I saw a book: The Judge Who Stole Christmas. Judging [no pun intended] by the description in Amazon.com, it's all about how Christians prevail against the ACLU trying to turn everybody into atheists by keeping a Nativity Scene off government property. A book, mind you. It takes a while to get books published, usually. Maybe I have a nasty suspicious mind, or maybe the "We Must Defend Christmas Against The Nonbelievers" campaign has been a while in the planning?
Yes, I think this latest blitz has really been coordinated and planned in advance, for the last few years. But even when I was a fundie, up to the late 80's, we were working up to it. I remember frequent conversations about what strategy we could use to "take Christmas back for Christ," as part of our big "take over the government for Christ" plan.
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