Why Christmas Matters
By Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Email This Article Print This Article Column Archives
In 1870, President Grant signed a law making Christmas Day a federal holiday, a national day of celebration. Congress overwhelmingly voted to make that happen and Grant understood that this was not a trivial gesture. The nation remained deeply divided in the aftermath of the Civil War and the federal government was looking for ways to reunite the people. Since Christmas was loved by almost everyone, the national holiday became a symbol of healing and unity.
Now, America is divided again, this time over social behavior. Traditional Americans want to hold on to the beliefs and institutions that, they believe, have made the country great, while secular-progressives lobby for aggressive change—things like redefining marriage to include homosexuals and other redefinitions of tradition.
Thus, deep divisions are growing in America and, somewhat shockingly, Christmas is right in the middle of it.
A few years ago some retail companies ordered their employees not to say the words "Merry Christmas" because they might offend people who do not celebrate the national holiday. Of course, that was insane. These companies were marketing the gift-giving season that accompanies Christmas but were refusing to utter the word? Please.
After an exposition of this by me and some other media people, millions of Americans decided not to spend money in the offending quarters, and the banishment of Christmas quickly ceased. I guess money trumps offending people all day long.
This season there is another Christmas controversy, this one engineered by some atheists who want to display signs on public property if Christmas or Hanukkah symbols are present. So far, only Illinois, Wisconsin and Washington state have caved in to the atheists, but it is just a matter of time before the non-believers come to a state house near you.
The problem with the atheist displays in Washington and Wisconsin is that the message is hateful, an attack on religion rather than a positive message. In Madison, then-Governor Tommy Thompson allowed the anti-religious sign, but posted it far away from the Nativity scene and the Menorah.
But in Olympia, Governor Christine Gregoire, a secular-progressive politician, has allowed a sign in the capitol rotunda that says religion enslaves people, among other not-nice things, to be placed within a few feet of Jesus in the manger. And peace on earth to you, too, Governor.
Of course, Gregoire did not have to do that. The legal settlement in Washington clearly states that any holiday display must be appropriate and reflect the decorum of the state capitol building.
So, the atheist anti-religion sign could have easily been rejected as being inappropriate. If the non-believers want a seasonal display, make it a positive thing. Put a picture of Charles Darwin and Bill Maher up there with the words "These are our guys... happy Winter Solstice!"
But, no, the atheists have to attack the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men and whoever else dropped by the Bethlehem birthplace.
Atheists well understand that Christmas is the most visible display of religion in the world, and any diminishment of it is a good thing to militant secularists. But it is inconceivable that Ulysses S. Grant, believing he finally had a slam-dunk issue in which to unite a fractured country, could have foreseen the social civil war we have today.
Sadly, we are no longer one nation under God. But those of us who truly understand the spirit of Christmas, the simple message of good will toward all men, understand that Ulysses S. Grant was on to something. Christmas should be a time of peace and understanding. It's sad that we now have to defend that.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
►
2018
(2)
- ► 03/25 - 04/01 (2)
-
►
2013
(5)
- ► 08/04 - 08/11 (2)
- ► 06/30 - 07/07 (1)
- ► 06/23 - 06/30 (2)
-
►
2012
(2)
- ► 08/05 - 08/12 (1)
- ► 06/03 - 06/10 (1)
-
►
2011
(3)
- ► 11/20 - 11/27 (1)
- ► 08/07 - 08/14 (1)
- ► 07/24 - 07/31 (1)
-
►
2010
(3)
- ► 11/21 - 11/28 (1)
- ► 11/07 - 11/14 (2)
-
▼
2009
(916)
- ► 06/14 - 06/21 (2)
- ► 06/07 - 06/14 (11)
- ► 05/17 - 05/24 (2)
- ► 05/03 - 05/10 (50)
- ► 04/26 - 05/03 (4)
- ► 04/19 - 04/26 (90)
- ► 04/12 - 04/19 (32)
- ► 04/05 - 04/12 (15)
- ► 03/29 - 04/05 (160)
- ► 03/22 - 03/29 (107)
- ► 03/15 - 03/22 (124)
- ► 03/08 - 03/15 (37)
- ► 03/01 - 03/08 (19)
- ► 02/22 - 03/01 (7)
-
▼
02/15 - 02/22
(256)
- Jeffrey Toobin
- WE GET LETTERS
- JUSTIFICATION AND COVERUP.
- TURKEY
- a nation of cowards
- Eric Holder’s confrontational speech
- Investigating Bush's Crimes
- Stimulus: Good Money After Bad
- next Israeli government
- Bill Gaines, Harvey Kurtzman
- MAD Magazine
- Graphic Novelists; MAD Magazine;R. CrumbYou can te...
- OBAMA INAUGURATION TAKE DOWN
- THESE STATEMENTS BY AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT ARE SHAM...
- standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and p...
- Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains.
- no bottom for world financial "collapse
- standing pat, of protecting narrow interests
- when imagination is joined to common purpose
- the time has come to set aside childish things.
- On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope...
- OUR COLLECTIVE FAILURE???
- ANOTHER BULLSHIT ARTICLE ABOUT HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS
- ANNOTATED INAUGURAL SPEECH. I'M NOT FUNNY. DONT J...
- protecting narrow interests
- Let it be said
- OBAMA SOARING RHETORICAL LIES 3
- GREAT GIFT OF FREEDOM
- do astronomers deaden themselves to the starry uni...
- By E. LDOCTOROW City of God
- GENIUSA Mosaic of One HundredExemplary Creative Mi...
- Arthur Koestler
- Mort Sahl
- I Lied About Making $80,000 Working From Home... A...
- Smoove B
- The Israeli Conflict Is Far Too Nuanced And Comple...
- We Should Get That Guy Who Does A Half-Assed Job T...
- Nation's Blacks Creeped Out By All The People Smil...
- more equal and less rapacious.
- the choice between our safety and our ideals.
- HOT AIR.
- with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upo...
- INAUGURATION SPEECH
- another republican fiction
- EMPTY RHETORIC. BENEATH CONTEMPT
- THE DIGITAL DELIVERY OF EDUCATION
- Drug War
- Fascists Under Beds
- preventive detention for terrorist suspects
- ANOTHER STUPID NEWSWEEK FILLER ON HAPPINESS
- 200 SELECTED BOOKS.
- The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating
- “Valkyrie,
- Presidential power
- Tom Waits:
- the culture wars
- The Death of Common Sense
- The Death of Common Sense 3
- self-esteem.
- Was There a Cultural Revolution c.1958-c.1974?
- defining deviancy down.
- UFO theories
- a second Great Depression.”---Paul Krugman
- JIMMY KIMMEL
- ‘Going Nuts in Washington’Riveted by Barack’‘Ten M...
- JAY LENO
- DAVID LETTERMAN
- Feb 19th 2009
- Monologue
- Obamaisms
- America, 1908,
- The Reality of Religion: Putting things in context
- Michael Ledeen
- Illustrating history's essential promise
- Are you better off?
- George Will
- “We are all socialists now.”
- Dark Energy: Astronomers Hot on Trail of Mysteriou...
- find topic pages about people, places, organizatio...
- AM RADIO AND THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
- favors only the prosperous
- America bigger than the sum of our individual amb...
- INAUGURATION SPEECH IS PURE CEREMONY
- in a decent society, quality medical attention is ...
- a return to these truths.
- Americans will share a regret about recent mistake
- Why Christmas Matters
- New Deal measures
- that great gift of freedom?
- obama bullshit
- DOUBLETALK
- black men and women wielding power.
- Obama speaks.
- we were tested we refused to let this journey end
- THIS SPEECH MEANS NOTHING
- .----ROBERT BORK
- this new day in America
- 'What Liberal Media?'
- Take the Canoli
- 'The Kennedy Assassination Tapes'
No comments:
Post a Comment