Take Donald Trump, always struggling to be first in line, he's thrown the first pitch of the annual War on Christmas season this year by preaching against the Starbucks Christmas coffee cup, which is now simply red and without the type of commercial Northern Winter and Sears Roebuck iconography some religious Christians despise. I'm surprised actually to find Starbucks turning out something that close to tasteful and without a pseudo-European name, but the Donald assumes he can take that simple red cup and work you into a lather of religious outrage by explaining it all the Fox way. It's War on Christmas time once again and pretending that anyone ever told you not to say Merry Christmas is the lie behind the tyrannical agenda of legally requiring you to be not only a Christian but an ignorant, paranoid and militant one.
It takes a certain kind of malignant mendacity to insist that Starbucks Hates Jesus and a certain kind of unbalanced mind to believe it, but believers gotta believe, don't they -- and we're a nation of outrage addicts, not too particular about veracity. But Christmas in America wouldn't be Christmas at all without the imaginary war on it and Donald Trump wouldn't be the ruthless sociopath without the contorted, contradictory lies that make up his campaign. I won't give him credit for inventing it. Actually pious Christians invented antipathy to Christmas a long ago and Christmas has been banned periodically by Christian leadership, both here and abroad. There's nothing new under the sun or under the comically bad hairdo for that matter.
Americans and American business have been in love with the holiday for a century or more and in fact much of our Christmas iconography and tradition has been authored by big corporations to sell product. That bothers the "put Christ Back in Christmas" crowd no end. But drink your $20 Frappomachiadohalfcaffventi in a plain cup or a Merry Christmas Santa cup and you'll piss someone off, whether they think Jesus the Barrista or Jesus the Christ is being disrespected. Trump is playing both sides and playing against anything that resembles freedom of anything. Hardly anyone is buying his Crappuchino of course, red cup or otherwise, but Trump is not afraid to work the bottom of the barrel or any other deep, dark and fetid place, and the media are not hesitant to give it all the publicity it can.
In our America, religion and patriotism are one and the same refuge of more than one scoundrel and no Republican Patriot would dare give himself that flag-kissing title without bufoonicating about Jesus the conservative billionaire and his ever present "liberal" enemies. It's expected. Patriotism entails positing a mythical past greatness that needs to be returned to. A past which entails a return to military swagger, Religious authority, isolationism, xenophobia, repression, racism and a forced ethnic "purity" which means a Christians First Nation and Christian rule and Biblical Law and above all, a Snowman on your paper coffee cup. That, in fact seems to be the only consistent theme among any likely GOP candidate in recent years. A foolish consistency you might say, as it requires you to hate the commercialism of Christmas and the non-commercialism of Christmas equally. It's a sacred holiday, but don't call it a holiday, and if you go through a minute without saying Merry Christmas from September through New Years eve, you hate Jesus.
Trump threatens not to renew Starbucks' Trump Tower lease - (just now after how many years?) He suggests we boycott them and promises that if he's elected we'll all be saying Merry Christmas. That's a sure thing of course because we are doing that already and have been for as long as I can remember. Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the US and a large part of our economy depends on us continuing to do so. How can we not notice that the Donald has no commitment to freedom of worship or of speech? In what bizarre world is this patriotic? The USA of course.
Atheists say Merry Christmas, Jews and Muslims say Merry Christmas and I say Merry Christmas in full knowledge of it's pagan origins, all external to the Christian canon. I think that peace and compassion and good will are better symbols, even in a hypocritical world than animals with light-up noses and trees from the Boreal forests. Acknowledging the dignity of the poor, showing affection toward children - these make it worthwhile to me. They have nothing to do with Trump or the politics of hate, fear and arrogance he preaches.
Yes, you greedy old grinch, I'll be saying Merry Christmas on December 25th, but not to you or because of you, pissing on the people who follow other religions and those who really love Christmas for their own reasons and acknowledge it in their own way: the kids, the grandparents and the people who like pretentious coffee in plain cups. Pissing on those who preach year round goodness for goodness' sake. If there's anything good about the religion you pretend to, you're stepping on it. If there were laws against hate speech, you'd be spending the holiday in jail and if there really is a hell with punishment for sin, we'll all be drinking eggnog while you lie howling.
I just had a conversation about this with some great folks that truly understand what their Christianity should be about. They are extremely annoyed about this whole "war on Christmas" meme. And so am I. Here is what I commented: This "war" is being perpetrated by the extreme right in their desire to gain power and control. They are no better than the other despot dictators around the world who oppress and torture their own people in the name of their god. There is no war, not on Christmas and not on Christianity. I challenge anyone who believes in this nonsense to name me one time they were prevented from going to church, saying a silent prayer, fellowshipping with others of their faith. If you want to wish me Merry Christmas, Happy Kwaanza, Happy Hannukah or just Happy Holidays, I will graciously accept your greeting and just be glad you think enough of me to want to wish me a happy day or week or season. And if I wish you a Happy Holiday it is out of respect because I do not know your religious affiliation, NOT because I am at war with Christmas. How about we go back to the days when the holidays were for spending time with family instead of trampling each other on Thanksgiving evening in order to get a jump on Black Friday. It is black indeed when I see how folks treat each other. My shopping is done before Thanksgiving every year so that I can spend the weeks leading up to Christmas baking and decorating and visiting. Yep. I am tired of the screaming memes that have little sense and even less Christianity.
ReplyDeleteWell said rockync!!! There is indeed no war on Christmas and far too many who claim to be Christian seem to lack understanding of what Christmas is really all about. Or should I say what it should e all about?
ReplyDeleteIt's basically a war on religious freedom posing as a defense of religious freedom. It's not just that they want to deny you the right to your beliefs, they want to demonize them and force you to acknowledge some kind of mock Christianity that's all about controlling people. Many of us would like to remind them that looking at the Christian scriptures, it's hard to believe Jesus was a tea party Republican or that he called the poor "takers" or thought sharing things was the mark of the beast.
DeleteMy reading of the scriptures, and I have read both old and new testament, advises that you are absolutely right with respect to Jesus.
DeleteHells bells, if there is a war on Christmas, then let’s put the word …
ReplyDeletePASS back into Passover …
Smoke HASH on Rosh Hashanah …
Go MAD on Ramadan …
VENT on Advent …
And remind them of the COST in Pentecost.
While we are at it, lets put the …
SEA back into Seasons Greetings!
Why not put the Mas back in Christmas? It comes from the Greek Maza for barley cakes like the one's eaten to celebrate Mithras. They were inscribed with a cross -- essentially a hot cross bun -- and eaten on solstices and equinoxes. A circle with a cross in it is the symbol of Mithras, just like the fish you see on Toyotas and Fords is the symbol of Dagon, who along with El were primary Caanite Gods, before El became a Jew and Dagon became Christian..
ReplyDeleteNo god is an island, you see, but the important thing is to put the Mas back into Christmas, or Mithrasmas for our less narrow minded friends.
And somehow I can't stop that old Tom Lehrer song from rattling around my skull:
ReplyDeleteI'm spending Hanukkah in Santa Monica
Wearing sandals
Lighting candles by the sea
I spent Shavuos in East St. Louis
A charming spot
But clearly not the spot for me
Those eastern winters, I can't endure 'em
So every year I pack my gear
And come out here to Purim
Rosh Hashana, I spend in Arizona
And Yom Kippur, way down in Mississippa
But in December
There's just one place for me. . .