Were it not for Christmas, you would not have been born
This year, the "War on Christmas" changed me. I felt almost militant in wishing people a "merry Christmas." This was especially so when I was accosted by some PC version of holiday good wishes, usually by sales clerks. Where we live, shopping choices are fairly slim; buying gifts for a three-year-old is nearly impossible unless I visit a store that has some inane "don't use the 'C'-word" policy.
When bestowing traditional American best wishes to our fellow man is reduced to a quasi-epithet, something in our society has gone seriously askew. After all, this nation would not exist were it not for Christianity and for the birth of Jesus. Yes, there would be people on this land, but there would not likely be the distinctly American notion of "liberty." This land would be a vastly different and probably more violent and uncivil place without the "certain unalienable Rights" granted by the Creator to whom the first Americans prayed.
Further, most of today's American citizens would not have been born. I would not have. Nor, likely, would you.
Why?
Protestantism was the primary cause of migration here for many of the first colonial families and it has remained a key factor in the attraction this grand, Christian-ideals-based social "experiment" has held for most who have come here in the past four centuries. Chances are, your parents would not have met...because their parents and ancestors would not have met - were it not for the reason for this season. Without Christmas there would be no Fourth of July and no Memorial Day. The wars these days celebrate would not have been fought. There would be no American heroes or heritage. Slavery would probably still be pandemic. Womens' place in this world would be radically different and surely not for the better.
Of all our holidays, there is none more deserving of being proclaimed a Federal Holiday. The debt we owe as a nation to the idea of Christ is greater than any other. Attempts to eradicate a public acknowledgement of Christmas are a subtle treason, a betrayal of who we are. Human nature when unconstrained by shared values is a very un-pretty and dangerous thing.
Whether you are a believer, an agnostic or an athiest and are America-bred, you owe your very existence to the belief that a savior was born and died for man's sins some 2000 years ago. On one hand, our putting up with the chattering of a slim, selfish and patently ignorant minority that seeks to erase that which made us is a testament to the strength of our values. On the other hand, allowing them to succeed cannot ever be an option, regardless of what it takes to stop them.
Along these lines, please read this:
Technorati tags: establishment clause, religion, War on Christmas
UPDATE: Stop the ACLU has a great piece on this in its "Best of 2005" section.
When bestowing traditional American best wishes to our fellow man is reduced to a quasi-epithet, something in our society has gone seriously askew. After all, this nation would not exist were it not for Christianity and for the birth of Jesus. Yes, there would be people on this land, but there would not likely be the distinctly American notion of "liberty." This land would be a vastly different and probably more violent and uncivil place without the "certain unalienable Rights" granted by the Creator to whom the first Americans prayed.
Further, most of today's American citizens would not have been born. I would not have. Nor, likely, would you.
Why?
Protestantism was the primary cause of migration here for many of the first colonial families and it has remained a key factor in the attraction this grand, Christian-ideals-based social "experiment" has held for most who have come here in the past four centuries. Chances are, your parents would not have met...because their parents and ancestors would not have met - were it not for the reason for this season. Without Christmas there would be no Fourth of July and no Memorial Day. The wars these days celebrate would not have been fought. There would be no American heroes or heritage. Slavery would probably still be pandemic. Womens' place in this world would be radically different and surely not for the better.
Of all our holidays, there is none more deserving of being proclaimed a Federal Holiday. The debt we owe as a nation to the idea of Christ is greater than any other. Attempts to eradicate a public acknowledgement of Christmas are a subtle treason, a betrayal of who we are. Human nature when unconstrained by shared values is a very un-pretty and dangerous thing.
Whether you are a believer, an agnostic or an athiest and are America-bred, you owe your very existence to the belief that a savior was born and died for man's sins some 2000 years ago. On one hand, our putting up with the chattering of a slim, selfish and patently ignorant minority that seeks to erase that which made us is a testament to the strength of our values. On the other hand, allowing them to succeed cannot ever be an option, regardless of what it takes to stop them.
Along these lines, please read this:
Practical Atheists
Charles R. Kesler, RealClearPolitics - Commentary
"Why did the founders by and large support religion's prominent but mostly informal public role? In the first place, the free exercise of religion (or the rights of conscience) was a vital part of man's natural rights. With its roots in the Bible, religion had also an integral connection with morality. Self-government presumed a self-controlled or moral people, and religion helped to shape those mores. Moreover, religion and religious freedom helped to shape politics by supporting limited government. There was something divine in man, and an authority in heaven superior to human will, which put permanent limits on government's power."
Technorati tags: establishment clause, religion, War on Christmas
UPDATE: Stop the ACLU has a great piece on this in its "Best of 2005" section.
Interview With A Former ACLU Lawyer
""The ACLU is involved in the secular cleansing of our history. This is not just a fight about free exercise, but about the protection of our American history. The ACLU want to deny America the knowledge of their Christian heritage.""
