"Right" On Cue

We're barely into the first half of the first week of December, and Fox TV is already howling about the supposed War on Christmas. Ground Zero for Round 1 of this year's battle royale appears to be Philadelphia, where city officials have allowed the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia to set up a "tree of knowledge" alongside other traditional holiday symbols such as a Christmas tree and a menorah. No word as yet on whether the Freethinkers will also provide a talking snake and an apple to go with the tree.

I've already said my piece on this topic once before, so in order to keep this brief I'll simply like to remind everyone that (a) there is no such f*%#ing thing as a War on Christmas, and (b) it is the Extreme Right Wing in this country that seeks to perpetuate the myth of a War on Christmas in order to keep people pissed off and distracted from how bad they're being screw..., er, ripped off by, you guessed it, the Extreme Right Wing.

12 Days of the War on Christmas, Fox Style


The attempts by some Congressional Democrats to reinstate the draft have been defeated, and show no signs of going anywhere at present. However, while Congressional Republicans may oppose a military draft for the Iraq War that does exist, that doesn't keep their supporters from launching a draft of their own to fight against the bogus War on Christmas. If you're approached by someone trying to recruit you for this effort, just remember the anti-draft slogan from the Vietnam era: "Hell, no, I won't go!"

Is this honestly what the Right feels we all need to be focused on at a time of actual war? Is it not bad enough that the Bush White House and its supporters on the Right led this country into a war on false pretenses? Now we have to suffer through a fake war started under false pretenses, a war that pits Americans against one another? Are we as a nation so insensitive to the pain and suffering of others in this world, are we so superficial, that this is all we can bring ourselves to care about? Do any of our faith traditions teach us to expend our energies solving fake problems while ignoring real ones? I, for one, say Hell, no! War is over (if you want it). Happy X-Mas.

- Doug L.

Happy X-Mas (War Is Over), by John Lennon (WARNING: Graphic depictions of war scenes)


FOR FURTHER REFERENCE:

War on Christmas Cards (2 Political Junkies blog, December 14, 2005)

American Civil Liberties Union

Amnesty International

Oxfam International

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger

Catholic Charities

Atheists join religions in holiday display (Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2, 2007)

The Great Enabler (Robbert Kuttner, The American Prospect, November 26, 2007)

War on Christmas Fraud Exposed: The Silent Night “Rewrite” That Wasn’t (ThinkProgress.org, December 14, 2005)