Why don't conservatives recognize that they could achieve far more if they directed their ire towards commercialization rather than secularization? This is an example inherent tension between the evangelical right and the corporate right, both of whom are trying to live together within the GOP. Pure market capitalism does not respect traditions or religion. Capitalism doesn't care. The market doesn't care. All that matters is how to make the best profit possible from selling to the public.
Read Article: Material Excess of Christmas is a Moral Problem: Objecting to the Extreme Spending, Materialism
“You sure have a cobb up your butt over Christmas.”
Explaining the perils of rampant materialism at christmas is apparantly being a grinch.
“Why don’t you just tell us how much better the world will be when everyone is an atheist? ”
Actually, the world would be a lot less interesting if people all believed the same thing.
I remember seeing a video today where a guy complained about retailers wishing him an “unspecified holiday” and arguing “nobody gets one of these catalogues thinking they’ll buy a Thanksgiving present” missing the whole point that saying “happy holidays” is not meant to suggest the purchase of Thanksgiving presents, but to market to holidays that occur in the same season as Christmas. There was even a part where several people shouted, “you’re offending us!” meaning they were offended by stores that don’t say “Merry Christmas”. I know I’m rambling, but this kind of ignorance and obnoxiousness is just annoying!
411314: You aren’t rambling. In fact, this year, Wal-mart announced it is going to use “Christmas” in it’s TV ads (watch for them–I’ve seen two), in response to a Christian campaign last year to boycott the store for using “holidays” rather than “Christmas.
http://tinyurl.com/yg4hy9
I forwarded this to Austin in case he wants to address it in more detail. But how is that for hypocrisy?
To complain that Christmas is too commercial and not religious enough–and then boycott the most monstrously huge commercial retail chain in the world to get them to use “Christmas”–in order to gain your business, so you can shop there at dirt-cheap prices* and buy even more at Christmas, and support the largest commercial outlet on the planet…thus further commercializing the holiday?
*How do they get product that cheap? Could their buyers’ be purchasing from third-world countries where labor is exploitative? Uh…PROBABLY. But that’s not what matters. It’s fine with these Christians if they support working people to death for slave wages…so long as they buy from a store that uses “Christmas” in their “BUY! BUY! BUY!” ads.
And in the mode of WWJD…One has to wonder: If Jesus was the son of god. And if he wanted people to commemorate his birth (of which there’s no indication), how would he feel, knowing that the world’s biggest commercial venue is using his holy title (Christ) to further commercialize his holy day by hocking as much cheap, plastic, commercial crap to his consumerist flock as they can sell them.
Nothing says “Christmas is about Jesus and not commercialism” more than Wal-mart cashing in record profits earned off Christians who chastize others for the over-commercialization of Christmas.
Sorry–one correction. I guess it was “last year” (2006) and not thhis year (2007). But the point is the same.
Chalk it up to people failing to engage the topic and reason through.
Christas is what *I* say it is. It is about Jesus’ birth and reflecting on pious thoughts like how to be more “Christ-like” (what that means is what I want it to mean). In another compartment of the brain: we have always celebrated Christmas with gifts and decorations and carols, etc. That’s the way we celebrate Jesus’ birth. Got it? What’s not to understand?
Of course, the sense of privilege and entitlement is hard to overlook: this is *my* God’s holiday, and He is the holder of the Truth (TM). I am a righteous person, and you should recognize all of this through your utterance of “Merry Christmas”. As a follower of the One True Faith (and the one in the majority), I don’t have to know about, pay attention to or acknowledge others’ holidays – and no one should make a generic greeting to include them!
Funny, I am seeing lots of Facebook postings from people proudly proclaiming that they are not ashamed to say Merry Christmas. I have never actually heard anyone get “offended” at Merry Christmas. I continue to maintain that I find it a little rude to assume someone celebrates this holiday. If you don’t know the person, what is wrong with a generic greeting? Maybe I should get upset if the cashier forgets to utter her less-than-heartfelt “have a nice day.”