Shutting it down for the holidays

Talk about a persecution complex—the religious right keep coming up with new ways to cement the perceptions of many that they have no connection at all with reality, or Jesus, for that matter. If the myth of Jesus represents the best qualities in mankind, then so many of these fundamentalist adherents to their amalgam of flag, politics and militarism represent the ugly aspects of America.

First, there is the daily drumbeat about their Christmas being stolen, via O’Reilly, John Gibson and the other proto-fascists of Fox News. Now, we see that they have issues with President Bush’s Christmas cards—apparently they lack the right’s imprimatur, sanctioning that Baby Jesus is given the proper prominence on the president’s cards. When Bush cozied up to this crowd, it was the equivalent of reaching into a viper’s pit. If he doesn’t cater to every whim and wish of these fringe dwellers, they are launching diatribes, pronouncements and a new wave of boycotts.

If you’re still not convinced that these right-tilting “wack jobs” have no affiliation with traditional interpretations of Jesus and even Christianity, there is this, from CNN (courtesy of another Maine blogger, over at Mainelife); Christmas can’t mean all that much to these “true believers”, if the commercialization of the holidays (oh, excuse me, Christmas) takes precedence over the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I thought that’s what religious people did on Christmas—went to church? I mean, I was raised Roman Catholic and going to mass (for many, its midnight mass) was as much a part of Christmas as food and presents. For these modern SUV-driving, war-loving, hate-spreading fundamentalists, there is little supporting their program.

Personally, I don’t see that Christmas has been stolen. I think it’s too damn commercial, but, I choose to take what I like and leave the rest. I’ve already watched A Charlie Brown Christmas tape and I’ll spend some time with It’s A Wonderful Life, as well as A Walton’s Christmas and I’ll be transported back to the happy times of Christmas past. Hell, I might even attend mass for the first time in decades. I might be agnostic, but I do enjoy the religious story of Christmas.