War on Christmas as a Fundraising Effort
Fear leads to anger... except for those marketing fear, in which case it leads to profits.
The Mississippi-based American Family Association says it has sold more than 500,000 buttons and 125,000 bumper stickers bearing the slogan "Merry Christmas: It's Worth Saying."
The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal aid group that boasts a network of some 900 lawyers standing ready to "defend Christmas," says it has moved about 20,000 "Christmas packs." The packs, available for a suggested $29 donation, include a three-page legal memo and two lapel pins.
And Liberty Counsel, a conservative law firm affiliated with the Rev. Jerry Falwell, says it has sold 12,500 legal memos on celebrating Christmas and 8,000 of its own buttons and bumper stickers.
Source: Christianity Today
In addition to the money, these products also draw in more support from more people. If these groups can scare people about one subject, they might have a better chance at scaring them about another one. If people can be fooled into believing that their is a cabal of godless secularists trying to undermine a religious Christmas, they might be convinced that the same cabal is trying to undermine Christianity and religion in America generally.
I wonder what it would take to find out just how much profit they are making on all of this. Wildmon says that they brought in a "slight profit" that will allow them to "do a few more things." Wildmon mentions creating "Easter buttons," suggesting the specter of a manufactured "War on Easter" in the near future to drive even more sales and support to these Christian Nationalists.
Comments
I can hardly wait till December 26 when they find something else to whine about.
If you want to keep the troops from bickering among themselves - and splitting into 20,000 more denominations - you must keep them united against someone else…
And if it makes you more $$$, well, you won’t pas that up!!
War on Christmas. Bah. Humbug. Ain’t no such a amminal.
Every December someone brings up this crap, and if they do it in my presence, I tell them in no uncertain terms, that no one - I repeat no one - is trying to get rid of Christmas or stop anyone from celebrating it as a religious holiday.
What is going on is:
[1] a much-needed and long-overdue effort to separate “faith religion” (the deep-down personal kind that really ought to matter if you’re inclined in that direction) from “civil religion” (that warm fuzzy feel-good stuff that’s supposed to get us into the community “holiday spirit” and make us feel like we’re not all at each other’s throats after all). Far too many people don’t seem to realize that trying to turn faith religion into civil religion doesn’t do either one any good.
[2] an equally much-needed and long-overdue effort to recognize that Christians aren’t the only ones who observe holidays around this time of year, we certainly don’t own the month of December, and to offer good wishes to other folks on their own holidays doesn’t harm anyone. It’s just good neighborly courtesy and respect.
Come to think of it, the fact that Christmas is such a schizoid half-sacred-half-secular mishmosh is due to [1] the early Church trying to co-opt all the pagan holidays it couldn’t entirely stamp out and [2] the ongoing absorption of who-knows-how-many ethnic cultural traditions even within the Christian world!
Anyhoo:
Happy Hanukkah.
Blessed Solstice.
Good Yule.
Happy Boxing Day.
Salubrious Saturnalia.
Good Yalda Night (sun’s birthday in Persia).
Happy Kwanzaa.
Happy New Year.
Congratulations and blessings on making your Hajj.
Merry Cephalopodmas (for all you squid-and-octopus fans out there).
Happy Beethoven’s Birthday.
Happy Krampus Day.
Happy Fruitcake Toss Day. (steel-toed work boots recommended.)
Merry Christmas.
Or just kick back and enjoy the day off.
Happy Holidays to all!