With the economic crisis and a historic presidential election, it feels like we've forgotten something, some sort of time-honored media tradition... oh yeah! The war on Christmas.
Well, it's been less of a story this year compared to previous ones. In fact, News Hounds reports that Bill O'Reilly has allegedly watered down his crusade against those waging the war on Christmas (although it was just, after all, temporarily) by referring to his "holiday reading" (note, not Christmas) on his own website. Indeed, that doesn't mean he can't continue to hatch plans to make money off the movement he spearheads annually. And he hasn't, according to Keith Olbermann on the December 3 "Countdown."
Still, the diehards always find a way to bring it back to this yearly battle between supposedly morally superior Christians and secular liberals. This year, they may have to scream a little louder to be heard over all the actual news going on in the world. For example, Daniel Henninger wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal actually suggesting that the reason we have a financial meltdown is because people refuse to say "Merry Christmas."
"A nation whose people can't say 'Merry Christmas' is a nation capable of ruining its own economy... Northerners and atheists who vilify Southern evangelicals are throwing out nurturers of useful virtue with the bathwater of obnoxious political opinions."
Seriously. I couldn't make this stuff up. But in a way, Henninger might be onto something. There is a connection between Christmas and the economy. Too bad he -- much like all the other "Save Christmas" reactionaries -- had it all backwards.
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/540
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