Newspapers, commentators agree: Virginia, there is no War on Christmas
About this time last year, the media was abuzz with talk of a purported "war" on Christmas, a charge promoted by Fox News hosts Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, who blamed the supposed offensive on "secular progressives" who seek to drive religion from the public square. This October, O'Reilly resumed his fight against the "war" -- the same month the book The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (Sentinel, 2005), written by O'Reilly's fellow Fox News host John Gibson, was published. The allegation of a secular conspiracy against the Christian holiday became a recurring theme on Fox News programs; for example, over the course of a five-day period at the end of November through early December, the network had devoted 58 segments to the topic.
Media Matters for America surveyed the newspapers in the Nexis database called "News, All (English, Full Text)" to examine how the allegations of a political attack on the Christmas holiday have been treated by editorial boards, columnists, and other commentators. Media Matters' survey was inspired, in part, by claims made by O'Reilly, who, on the December 21 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, complained about the press reaction to his Christmas crusade:
O'REILLY: The press, however, continues to run against the folks. Thirty-one -- 31 -- separate newspaper articles have attacked me in the past few weeks. Only three newspapers have stuck up for Christmas: the Ventura County Star, Investor's Business Daily, and The Wall Street Journal.
But a Media Matters review has found that O'Reilly underestimated both support for and opposition to -- on the opinion pages of the nation's newspapers -- the idea that there is, in fact, a "war" on Christmas.
For the purpose of analysis, the articles were divided first by "editorial" -- unsigned pieces that express the opinion of a newspaper's editorial board and thus the official position of the paper -- and "opinion pieces," signed commentaries that include op-ed pieces and columns that appear on a newspaper's editorial and opinion pages. We then sorted further into these two categories:
1) The author accepted the premise that there is indeed a "war" on Christmas or addressed a perceived erosion of Christian values through so-called "politically correct" modifications to Christmas traditions, greetings, and celebrations.
2) The author dismissed the claim of a concerted attack on the Christmas holiday, disputed the existence of any major affront to Christianity, or described the entire "conflict" as generally exaggerated.
Within each one of those two categories, Media Matters assessed the number of editorials and signed opinion pieces and the total number of articles that mention Fox News and/or Bill O'Reilly and/or John Gibson.
| Commentary | The war on Christmas is real | The war on Christmas is bogus |
| editorials | 3 | 14 |
| signed opinion pieces | 14 | 48 |
| editorials and signed opinion pieces that mention Fox News and/or O'Reilly and/or Gibson | 1 | 44 |
Opinion pieces: The war on Christmas is real
Although O'Reilly claims that the Ventura County Star and The Wall Street Journal "have stuck up for Christmas," neither paper has taken a stance on the Christmas controversy; both, however, have run opinion pieces on the issue. The Star ran two opinion pieces on December 18 that essentially cancel each other out: 1) a column by commentator Richard Schaefer in which he condemned "modern humbuggers" who attack Christmas; and 2) a column by editor Joe Howry. From Howry's column:
The Star got caught up in the what do we call it thing last week when Fox personality Bill O'Reilly announced on his television show that The Star was the only newspaper he could find in the country that supported his stand that we had become ridiculously politically correct by not acknowledging that the holiday season is primarily the Christmas holiday and that we should call it as such. He also doesn't like the idea of taking Christmas out of greetings and public displays.
As much as I liked the idea of being singled out by O'Reilly for taking a courageous stand on the issue, the truth is, to the best of our recollections, we haven't taken that stand. Well, that's not altogether true, either. We have formed an opinion; we just haven't published it. Reluctantly, and without taking sides, we have come to the conclusion that the whole thing is kind of silly.
Similarly, while Wall Street Journal editorial page deputy editor Daniel Henninger spoke out against excessive political correctness regarding Christmas, he did not let Christmas pugilists like O'Reilly off the hook either:
War is hell, and Christmas as originally conceived was supposed to be about deliverance from that. Those insistent believers, non-believers and pundits who won't rest 'til their side wins the great Christmas war should come clean and admit that their favorite soul this time of year is and always has been Ebenezer Scrooge.
Oddly, five of the 14 opinion pieces that express a perceived erosion of Christmas hail from Canada, a country that O'Reilly attacked in a November 18 discussion with Fox News host John Gibson about the implications of the Christmas "war" purportedly being waged by "secular progressives":
Because if you look at what happened in Western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programs like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage.
Editorials: The war on Christmas is real
Of the three editorials in favor of the idea that there is a "war" on Christmas, only an Investor's Business Daily editorial mentions O'Reilly, standing firmly in his camp and praising him for "leading the charge in exposing those striving to strip Christmas of all religious content and to suppress religious expression to make it easier to advance their secular agenda." The two other newspapers that "stuck up for Christmas," to use O'Reilly's phrase, were The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia).
Opinion pieces: The war on Christmas is bogus
Several of the nation's leading commentators have taken notable issue with the idea of a "war" on Christmas, and some have been less than kind to O'Reilly. Here's a sampling of the 46 signed opinion-page pieces questioning O'Reilly's assertion of an attack on the holiday:
- BILL PRESS, syndicated columnist: "Haven't you heard? If you believe Fox News, this is the last Christmas we'll ever enjoy. We'll be lucky even to celebrate this one. Because, according to Faux News, Christmas is under attack."
- RUTH MARCUS, Washington Post editorial page staff: "If the anti-Christmas forces are winning, then the war in Iraq is nothing short of total victory."
- NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF (subscription required), New York Times op-ed columnist: "Perhaps I'm particularly sensitive to religious hypocrites because I've spent a chunk of time abroad watching Muslim versions of Mr. O'Reilly -- demagogic table-thumpers who exploit public religiosity as a cynical ploy to gain attention and money. And I always tell moderate Muslims that they need to stand up to blustery blowhards -- so today, I'm taking my own advice."
And how has O'Reilly responded?
O'REILLY: The usual committed left-wing ideologues -- like columnist Ellen Goodman, Bill Press, Nicholas Kristof -- are very worried about the Christmas deal, largely because the secular movement is getting its butt kicked. (The O'Reilly Factor, 12/13)
O'REILLY: Kristof, top to bottom, you know, is distorting, lying, you know, everything he can possibly do. (The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, 12/19)
Editorials: The war on Christmas is bogus
O'Reilly has openly attacked several of the 14 newspapers (noted by an * below) whose editorial boards have cast a skeptical eye on his Christmas "war." A number of editorials have, indeed, been quite critical of the assertion by O'Reilly and others of a "war" on Christmas:
- From the December 2 The State Journal-Register editorial (Springfield, Illinois; subscription required):
To Gibson, O'Reilly and their legion of blogging, talk-radio-calling, letter-to-the-editor-writing disciples, this seemingly innocuous alteration of the greeting is merely Step 1 in a far more sinister plot. A sinister plot whose final solution is replacement of a decent, Christian majority society with a nation of godless, drug-addled cretins.
- From the December 3 Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Yet to hear some voices -- Bill O'Reilly's, for instance -- Christmas lies under siege. Unless defended, it even could disappear! What planet do these Scrooges inhabit?
- From the December 10 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin):
Of course, boycotting Fox would include no longer watching "The O'Reilly Factor," whose host, Bill O'Reilly, is fomenting this year's hysteria over holiday semantics. But we would argue that "peddling filth" is a worse sin than selling merchandise under a "Happy Holidays" sign.
One O'Reilly response involved comparing the Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial -- whose criticism surprised him -- to the media in Madison, Wisconsin:
O'REILLY: Now, this is a conservative city, Richmond. I mean, this is not Madison, Wisconsin, where you expect those people to be communing with Satan up there in the Madison, Wisconsin, media. (The O'Reilly Factor, 12/13)
|
Editorials: The war on Christmas is real The Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/5 The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia), 12/10 Investor's Business Daily, 12/16 Opinion pieces: The war on Christmas is real Beth Joyner Waldron, The Christian Science Monitor, 12/1 (also appeared in Pittsburgh Tribune Review) Joe Muench, El Paso Times, 12/4 John Geiger, National Post (Canada; subscription required), 12/5 (also appeared in The Vancouver Sun) James Pinkerton, Newsday, 12/8 Frank Beckmann, The Detroit News, 12/9 George Mather, The Brockville Recorder and Times (Ontario; available on Nexis), 12/9 Dana D. Kelley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (purchase required), 12/9 Ted Byfield, The Calgary Sun (Alberta), 12/11 Connie Woodcock, The Toronto Sun, 12/12 (also appeared in the London Free Press [Ontario], the Edmonton Sun [Alberta], and The Ottawa Sun) Cindy Richards, Chicago Sun-Times, 12/14 Richard Schaefer, Ventura County Star (California), 12/18 James D. Slack, The Birmingham News (Alabama), 12/18 John Cartledge, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), 12/20 Naomi Lakritz, Calgary Herald (Alberta, subscription required), 12/22 |
Editorials: The war on Christmas is bogus The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois; subscription required), 12/2 * Richmond Times-Dispatch, 12/3 * Austin American-Statesman, 12/10 * Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin), 12/10 * Charleston Gazette (West Virginia): - 12/10 - 12/15 - 12/19 The Toledo Blade (Ohio), 12/11 The Boston Globe, 12/11 Guardian (Prince Edward Island; available on Nexis), 12/13 Philadelphia Daily News, 12/14 *San Francisco Chronicle, 12/18 The Roanoke Times (Virginia), 12/19 Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin), 12/20 Opinion pieces: The war on Christmas is bogus *Thomas Tryon, Sarasota Herald Tribune, 12/4 Philip Gailey, St. Petersburg Times, 12/4 (also appeared in the Augusta Chronicle and the Biloxi Sun Herald) *Adam Cohen, The New York Times, 12/4 Dianne Williamson, Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts; subscription required), 12/6 *Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times, 12/6 (also appeared in the Grand Forks Herald, the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) *Cynthia Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/7 (also appeared in The Times Union [Albany, NY], The Palm Beach Post [FL], and The Baltimore Sun) *Bill Press, Star-Banner (Ocala, Florida), 12/4 (also appeared in the Sentinel and Enterprise, [Fitchburg, Massachusetts]) Marianne Means, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 12/9 John Tierney, The New York Times, 12/10 Michael McGough, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/10 Colbert I. King, The Washington Post, 12/10 (also appeared in The New York Sun) *Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post, 12/10 (also appeared in the Monterey County Herald [California], the Times-Union, the San Jose Mercury News, the Tulsa World, and the Duluth News-Tribune [Minnesota]) *Ellen Goodman, The Boston Globe, 12/9 (also appeared in The Houston Chronicle, the Courier News [Bridgewater, New Jersey], Charleston Gazette [West Virginia], the Augusta Chronicle, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press [Minnesota], The Miami Herald, Buffalo News [New York], The Baltimore Sun, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and The Kansas City Star) *Chris Satullo, *The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/11 Dusty Nix, *Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia; available on Nexis), 12/11 John Laird, The Columbian (Clark County; Washington), 12/11 *Marcy Rothenberg, Daily News (Los Angeles), 12/11 Jim Buchanan, Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina), 12/11 *Kevin Horrigan, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 12/11 (also appeared in The Tribune [Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce, FL], the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Tulsa World) *Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times (subscription required), 12/11 Marsha Mercer, *Richmond Times-Dispatch, 12/11 (also appeared in the Winston-Salem Journal) *Leonard Pitts, Buffalo News, 12/12 (also appeared in The Wichita Eagle, the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Aberdeen American News [South Dakota], the Orlando Sentinel, the Chattanooga Times Free Press) Jennifer Marks, Home Textiles Today (subscription required), 12/12 Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 12/13 (also appeared in The Baltimore Sun) Richard Larsen: Ventura County Star, Kathleen Merryman, *The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), 12/14 Rhonda Chriss Lokeman, Kansas City Star, 12/14 Randy Krebs, St. Cloud Times (Minnesota), 12/14 Charita M. Goshay, Copley News Service, 12/14 Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/15 (also appeared in The Times-Union) Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times (registration required), 12/15 Dante Chinni, The Christian Science Monitor, 12/16 Carol Manda, Dayton Daily News, 12/16 Rodney Kennedy, Dayton Daily News, 12/16 Rev. John F. Hudson, Boston Herald (purchase required), 12/17 *Andrew Hunt, Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario; subscription required), 12/17 *Jane Holahan, Lancaster New Era (Pennsylvania), 12/17 *Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times (subscription required), 12/18 Joe Howry, Ventura County Star, 12/18 *Lynne Van Luven, Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia; subscription required), 12/18 Tommy Denton, The Roanoke Times (Virginia), 12/18 Rev. N. Graham Standish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/18 *Peter Ames Carlin, Oregonian, 12/18 *Cynthia Tucker, The Baltimore Sun, 12/19 (also appeared in the Palm Beach Post and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) John Nichols, *Capital Times, 12/20 *Jeff Gelles, *The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/20 Michelle Gillett, Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts; available on Nexis), 12/20 |
*Items marked by an asterisk (*) have been mentioned by Bill O'Reilly on either Fox News' or Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly.
NB: Media Matters for America employed the following Nexis search:
Christmas w/10 war OR political! correct! OR Bill O'Reilly OR John Gibson OR Fox News AND section (editorial OR opinion) -- Date Range: December 1-21, 2005.
... Just because a number of (largely liberal) op-ed writers opine that there is no such war make it true?
What do these writers (of the "bogus" belief) say to support their case?
Say what you want about Gibson's book, but it is stacked with example after example to support his premise.
Meanwhile, this MMFA post does nothing to refute the premise of O'Reilly and Gibson.
Re: "Just because a number of (largely liberal) op-ed writers opine that there is no such war make it true?"
And just because a number of people opine there is no Santa, doesn't make it true.
Uh ...
... Just because a number of (largely liberal) op-ed writers opine that there is no such war make it true?
Let me ask you this, does a majority of voters make it right to deny marriage benefits to Americans of the same sex? This is not about what's true or false. I believe that there is no war on Christmas. The majority of people in America enjoy celebrating this holiday and whether you celebrate in a religious way or in a less than religious manner. It's really no business of yours. There is no war on Christmas and it's time for you to take a step into a larger world.
Left045: Merry Christmas to you and yours.
To all: Merry Christmas to you and yours.
The war on Christmas was over the day 2 radion stations in my broadcast area started playing Christmas music 24/7. One of them started the day after Halloween. If there is a war on any holiday, it's Thanksgiving.
Oh, and I had Chinese food the other night. And I couldn't find anything on the menu with cheese in it. Why must the Chinese wage this war on cheese???? I will bring horror to those who don't serve cheese in their restaurants!!!! It is a secular librul conspiracy.
The funny part about all this is that O'Reilly will claim that he "won".
I should add that those secular radio stations playing "holiday" music play predominantly Christmas music. I haven't heard a Hanukah or Qwanzaa or Winter Solstice song yet. And, those godless stations have the audacity to play songs about JESUS along with songs about our Lord and Savior, Santa Claus.
Will us librul, secular, evolutionist, anti-Christian thugs ever be able stamp out Christmas forever???? I guess we just have to stop celebrating it first...
I don't think so.
We had Christmas merchandise in the stores in my area before Halloween. Add that holiday to the list. Come to think of it, there's a huge Christmas store in my area that is open year round. Oh my God, there's a war on every single holiday!
Every year the lights go up earlier and the sales start sooner. We must act now to stop this war on Thanksgiving before this important holiday becomes marginalized.
The conservative dodge. Knowing there is no possible way to show there is some concerted war on Christmas. Rather than a few isolated secular overreactions. The weak, pathetic attempt to reverse the burden of proof. Claiming there is a war on Christmas then snivelling that we are not proving the negative. Here is a clue, clueless one. The wingnut making the Claim about the War on Christmas has the burden of proof to cough up evidence of this war. ABSENT this evidence we have every right to claim the war is bogus. It is YOUR absence of evidence that is enough to validate our claims. WE are not obligated to find evidence of a negative, for the obvious reason.
Read Gibson's book. The evidence is there.
That sort of reminds me of a conversation I had with a colleague about a certain Project for a New American Century. I mentioned the participation of Rumsfeld, Cheney and Wolfowitz in that project. He said, "They're participating just because someone said they are?" No, I said, it's because they are on record as sponsoring the project.
And there's a "war on Christmas" just because bill o'lielly says there is? Oh, and a few other "conservative" media hitmen also say it. Must be true then. Even though they have no evidence of it (as poster after poster after poster says here on these pages).
o'lielly and the others make their claimes because (1) it appeals to their desperate audience and thereby (2) keeps their money (sponsors) coming back
There is no war against Christmas, but there is a war on Christian Values. It's being waged by the very people saying that there is a war on Christmas. Just this week congress passed legislation cutting benefits to feed the hungry (Food Stamps), heal the sick (Medicade cuts) and teach the poorest of our children (student loans). We do this as we cut taxes on the wealthy every year.
We're also involved in a protracted war with no end in sight. Whatever happened to Blessed are the Peacemakers. These same people screaming about attacks on Christmas are the very ones pushing this war. When they were young and had the chance to fight they had other commitments. Now they are the first ones calling antiwar people traitors. George Orwell was only off by 16 years.
and Amen
Amen again. Oh, and Merry Christmas
Well said Worrierking.
Left045 said: "Just because a number of (largely liberal) op-ed writers opine that there is no such war make it true? "
Umm... Just because O'Reilly says that there is a War on Christmas, does that make it true?
Give me a break. Christianity means more than what's written on the cover of a Hallmark Card, and being a Christian means more than just saying "Merry Christmas" in december.
Wake up to the real "war" being waged by the likes of O'Reilly on the quality of public discourse in present day America.
P.S. Ruth Marcus: "If the anti-Christmas forces are winning, then the war in Iraq is nothing short of total victory" <----I'm laughing my socks off :)
The War on Xmas is big here in Virginia.There's a letter to the editor of the local newspaper everyday for the last 3 weeks about Xmas disappearing. The funny thing is,these same Xmas fighters for christ..will be looking to get smashed on New Years.I look forward every year to hearing ALL their drunken tales on New Years,when we return to work. I bet many won't make it to church,Sunday Jan 1.
IF there is a war on Christmas I am wondering where and when it began. This is a made up issue by the republicans on Fox to distract from the news.
[link to leftoverright.blogspot.com]
"Thirty-one -- 31 -- separate newspaper articles have attacked me in the past few weeks. Only three newspapers have stuck up for Christmas"
So O'Reilly=Christmas? Is that the subtle message there?
Of all the stupid falsehoods O'Reilly has spewed across the airwaves, this "War on Christmas" nonsense is perhaps one of his silliest. Your analysis has put his sham in perspective. Thanks
...oh, and Happy Holidays. ; )
This crap by both idiots on Faux News is nothing more than a distraction like Natalee Holloway. Faux news owners want nothing more than the US public discussing anything than what is really going on in the world or our corrupt government. The more they can drive things off topic the better for the idiots we have in charge of this country. Tell your families to turn off the TV and tune in to the real world and real discussions. It is the only way we will get this country back on track.
Journalism classes should use the MMFA War on Christmas documentation to show students how a well funded, ideological driven media empire (FOX) can manufacture news (War on Christmas) with misinformation; and how it assisted in driving the House of Representatives to pass a resolution protecting Christmas.
Do you remember when Kellen Winslow played football at Miami and he compared himself to a soldier fighting a war. Many people were offended by the comparison. They said that the comparison demeaned the sacrifices of true soldiers. Is O'Reilly also demeaning the sacrifices of real soldiers in real wars by using the word "war"?
I just wish that he'd support the troops.
If you americans if there was a "war" on christmas, you would get a very small percentage of people saying that there is.
However, I think most americans would agree that there is a PC motivated movement to seperate the holiday of christmas in commercial use.
It's clear that Oreilly and Gibson are grossly exagerating the impact of this movment, and I doubt that many take their views too seriously.
I'd like to be wished a merry christmas now and then, but franky, I could care less what a stores advertising says.
It is up to each individual store to decide how they want to advertise come christmas time. If more and more stores decide to go with "Happy Holidays" that is just a sign that times are changing, and probably changing for the better.
Afterall, no one has a better sence of what the public wants, than the commercial sector.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THOSE PEOPLE WHO WATCH FOX NEWS??? ARE THEY THAT BRAIN DEAD????
Did you read the first post in this thread?
The ones who believe there's a war on Christmas want us to prove that it doesn't exist...
This is despite the fact that churches are packed on Christmas services, live nativities are displayed in almost every town, Christmas trees are displayed in every major city, Christmas shows are performed in most public schools, radio stations play Christmas music for weeks, people buy and exchange gifts, families entertain each other and celebrate together, egg nog and fruitcakes are consumed, people decorate their houses with Christmas lights and Christmas trees, the malls are packed, traffic is busy with travelers...
...granted, all this hype is enough to push any right winger over the edge. They can't have peace and goodwill toward men! That is blasphemy to their religion. So these Grinches wring their hands and devise their scheme to steal the joy in Whoville.
I wouldn't touch them with a 39 and a half foot pole...
How can anyone have a "Merry Christmas" if the Rightwing foghorns aren't ginning up resentment, hatred, suspicion, and stoking the VICTIM MENTALITY of their fans?
"They're trying to take Christmas AWAY from you! Be angry! Be very ANGRY! It's the Liberals, the "secular progressives!" They're out to GET you! They are Godless, and MUST be defeated!"
Meanwhile, Liberals are celebrating Christmas as always, with no problems and no such resentments. The NeoCons believe they know a TRUTH: They cannot continue to operate unless their followers are kept mad as hell, unable to enjoy life. Mad, and scared. Scared, and thus willing to abandon the Constitution.
The Constitution says a wise and simple thing: celebrate religion all you want, any way you want. Just leave GOVERNMENT out of it. The NeoCons must spin this as "them" being ANTI-Christian. With Jesus, it was "US". With the Rightwing, it's always "US against THEM". Resentment and hatred are the true ANTI-Christian forces, and the Right demonstrate them daily.
Bill O'Reilly sets up straw men because he knows that feeding into the anger of the right means ratings and money. His show has no educational value. It is all about O'Reilly and his servile followers.
KY
the right would still use it to stir up fear and divide the people. The right is a farce.
This War on Christmas subterfuge is enough to make even a pious sort like myself want to say "Festivus for the rest of us."
Don't know about your state, but a recent poll in Michigan revealed that most people prefer to say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". OK, that's fine.
But 86% said they really didn't care what greeting was used.
So, I'm happy to report there is no war in Michigan.
I live in the liberal community of Santa Cruz, CA. Christmas is alive and well here. Lights abound and folks are out shopping and wishing each other Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Somehow the memo on the War against Christmas bypassed us.
I consider myself a Christian but I find nothing in common with BO'R style of Christianity or the type porported by this Administration. As one of the previous posts mentioned where is the Christian Charity, just this week congress passed legislation cutting benefits to feed the hungry (Food Stamps), heal the sick (Medicade cuts) and teach the poorest of our children (student loans). We do this as we cut taxes on the wealthy every year.
The Jesus I learned about as a child and continue to read about would not have left the folks of the Ninth Ward and hundreds of thousands of Katrina victims without the benefits of food, shelter and clothing. What is Christian about the way FEMA responded to the Gulf Coast victims?
What happens to "The War On Christmas" on Dec 26? Will O'Lielly go after the Easter Bunny?
War? Perhaps not, BUT there are a few battles. To pretend otherwise is to be in denial.
But maybe we can put aside out differences for a day or two :-)
It's Christmas Eve....
Well Christmas Eve afternoon.
Just stopping here quickly to wish EVERYONE here Happy Holidays!
Or IF it applies:
Merry Christmas-Happy Hanukkah-Happy Kwanza
IF you celebrate NOTHING...well then just IGNORE this post ;-)
*lostlogic where are you? Haven't seen any posts by you in quite awhile :-/...Hope all is well*
I'm a non-beleiver who values what Christmas has evolved into in American culture. However, I have no desire to diminish what Christmas means to those Christians who are celebrating the birth of their savior. Ironically, O'Reilly seems to value the same thing I do - Christmas as it has evolved into in American culture. Do you really think their is an organized effort to undermine Christianity in America?
Maybe those who prefer "Happy Holidays" over "Merry Christmas" are simply free people exercising their freedom.
Merry Christmas
O'Reilly should be old enough to remember when the stores stopped using "Christmas" greetings. It was done in response to outraged Christians, who didn't want their most sacred holiday exploited. There were even protests, with signs like "Jesus is the reason for the season", "Christmas isn't about shopping", etc. So the stores switched to saying "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings", TO AVOID OFFENDING CHRISTIANS. Now the liars on the Faux News Channel have decided to whip up fake outrage at the stores, for NOT commercializing the most sacred day for people of the Christian faith.
Talk about a "War on Christmas"!
Excellent point. The REAL "War on Christmas" is the push towards ever more commercialization and consumerism. Oh, and 'tis the season to shaft the poor, the ill, and the elderly in order to further enrich those with already the most. Is this Christ's message? No. Not by any stretch or interpretation.
So, yes, WAR is being conducted, AGAINST Christ and the Christians who worship Him. And it's not being conducted by "the left".
O'Reilly's view of humanity and worship were exposed when he claimed that "COMPANIES should get down on their knees" and thank Christ for Christmas. First, companies don't HAVE "knees" ... only people do. And second, defining "salvation" as a good bottom line and lots of sales is a perversion of the entire message taught by Christ.
The U.S. Congress did not formally declare "war" on any person, persons, or nation claiming to have "attacked" Christmas.
The Pentagon has not deployed troop, air or naval forces in "defense" of Christmas.
There have been no reported casualties, injuries or POW's from this purpoted "war" on Christmas.
Meanwhile, there is a REAL WAR in Iraq we should be more concerned about.
Thus, THERE IS NO WAR ON CHRISTMAS. DROP IT.
Happy Holidays
For what it's worth --
As a formerly Jewish atheist, I'm taking a break from making my traditional last-minute Christmas presents. My wife - a secular non-practicing former Christian - is busy putting the final touches on our Christmas tree. I still have a bunch of presents to wrap. I enjoy wishing "Merry Christmas" to everyone I see. I'm not offended at all if they return the wish or if they offer "Happy Holidays." Who cares?
To me, Christmas is about the spirit of giving and about hopes for a better future for humanity and the world. I understand that a lot of people think it's about the birth of a messiah - but as a Jew, I never believed the messiah had arrived - and as an atheist, I don't believe in the concept of God at all.
But I do have hopes for peace on earth and I do believe in good will toward men (and women, too). In that respect, I'm as much a Christian as anyone I know. And I'm a better Christian than many, especially those who believe in waging war without provocation, or those who believe in forsaking the poor, or those who pander to the wealthy and pretend they're serving some greater good.
So Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah and have a Happy New Year.
Never fear, O'Reilly and all the rest of those reitch wing clowns who keep the neo con airostocracy entertained will be gearing down now. The "war" was, of course, created to be a flashpoint occupying the attention of the masses so they could more quietly pass through the program cuts (less food stamps , less medi-care and less student loans) that are designed to off set the tax cuts going to the wealthy. To add insult to injury on the heals of this action, Mr. Bush gave us a cute little Christmas message in which he talked about peace and the good will of helping the poor in our country! Is that being a hypocrite!!
........more people celebrated that fact this year than did last year. Real christrian people are not overly concerned about clowns like O'Reilly and their grab for headlines with those "flashpoint" issues that are designed to divert the attention of populace away from "real" issues like, the passing of program cuts that affect the poorest class of people while giving tax cuts to the wealthy! Enough said.
This faux Fox outrage over the War on Christmas(tm) has reached the end of its useful shelf life. O'Reilly and Co. will now cut-and-run from its unreal reality show. So, Fox' ridiculous ratings stunt will be boxed-up and stashed away in the dusty Fox basement, along with the lights and ornaments-til next year.
(Programming note: the planned Fox sequel-The War on Martin Luther King Day-has been scrapped. It was shown to be an unpopular war with Fox test audiences.)
O'Reilly is the king of Loud White Noise
i've pointed out before that there are christians that have raised a fit all over this country about witches and goblins being displayed at halloween, to the point that many schools have gone to autumn festivals. [not to mention trying to get a sports team, the tampa bay devil rays, to change their name.] can you point to a few examples of going overboard on "banning" christmas? sure but the vast majority of these cases involve trying to introduce religious carols or nativity sets to the exclusion of other beliefs. and the aclu has actually sided with people who say that if a christmas tree and menorah are on public property, then a nativity scene is ok too. my preference: allow all the trees, red and green plates, santas etc and leave all the religious stuff off public property. all this garbage about an absence of religion in this country is nonsense. you can't turn on the tv or read newsweek without seeing something like: jesus, the high school years.
the "liberal" or "progressive" religious folk in the country have recently been finding their voices. beginning perhaps with Jim Wallis, they have been writing op-eds and sending in material for comsumption much more frequently lately. perhaps it will be these voices that persuade the religious right that their vision has been "misguided" the last few years? i am a non-religious type, but i have hope for a theistic voice of reason in the coming years. we'll see....
We know the War on Christmas is bogus. However, O'Reilly will just say that all those who oppose him are members of the far-left, secularizing media cabal.