The reality is this is a Right Wing war on religious freedom.  

"Happy Holidays" could be anti-Christmas ONLY IF Christmas weren't a holiday. Similarly, "Season's Greetings" could be anti-Christmas only if Christmas occured at another time of the year. But even at that, there's a logical fallacy inherent in the whole concept:

A is not B, thus Z.

"Happy Holidays" is not "Merry Christmas," thus you want to destroy Christmas.

This is like saying "Orange" is not "Blue," thus you want to destroy the sky.

The more inclusive greetings are simply reflections of respect for all those who celebrate special days at this time of year.  The right wing Christmas war is nothing more than an attempt to "dis" the religions they don't like.

Remember in rebutting their claims to step out of the frame. Don't use "War on Christmas" - unless you modify if to expose it for what it is: the right wing Christmas war.

Otherwise refer to the use of non-denominational language as what it is: respect for America's religious holidays, support of religious freedom, etc. For example:

"Jerry Falwell plans to sue Americans who support religious freedom. Soon, you will be unable to use the phrase Happy Holidays without a lawyer.  Why? Because Jerry Falwell is hiring lawyers to sue you if you do. Under Mr. Falwell's rules, you must say Merry Christmas to everyone, no matter what religion you or they believe in. In Mr. Falwell's America, you cannot respect any religion other than his."

Don't even use their framing if you can avoid it. Cognitively-speaking, simply stating the phrase can lend it credibility, no matter how unwarranted.

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Beware of the everyday brutality of the averted gaze.
by mataliandy on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:22:25 PM EST

Our friends at Americans United for Separation of Church and State have got the goods on the White House.

Here is a taste:

The Rev. Jerry Falwell and his Religious Right cohorts have been complaining for weeks now about government agencies and store clerks saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" but it looks like Falwell forgot to tell President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and the Republican National Committee about the preferred religiously correct greeting.

The White House's 2005 holiday card is just out, and it doesn't mention the word "Christmas" once.

The card, mailed under the auspices of the Republican National Committee and signed by the president and his wife, reads, "With best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness 2005." It also includes a passage from the Old Testament Book of Psalms.

The front cover is an artist's rendition of the White House and grounds covered with snow while the presidential pets, two dogs and a cat, frolic on the lawn. It contains no religious symbolism.

Isn't it just like Jerry Falwell, Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the hypocritical blow hards to draw up an enemies list for Christmas and then sick their lawyers on them?

by Frederick Clarkson on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 03:46:58 PM EST

Me?  I always buy the cards that say "Peace" because that is what I wish for the world.  And wasn't Jesus supposed to be the Prince of Peace?

by LynChi on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 04:05:20 PM EST

As a result of this Christian Christmas war of words campaign several major retailers have recently announced they are going back to calling their Christmas trees just that. Now if we can just turn that energy, and threat of using civil disobedience by boycotting some major corporations, into a lesson on how to get our government leaders to change their direction we may be onto something.

Also, America is not a Christian country but maybe it should be. The Jews have their own country, Israel. The Mormons have their own state, Utah. The people in both Israel and Utah are allowed to violate human-right and criminal laws, respectively, while the rest of us are held to a higher standard. If America was a Christian nation we could start using our religion as a sword and a shield to treat non-Christians as inferior humans. We could act like the Mexican people are Palestinians and steal their land, bulldoze their homes, destroy their crops, and carryout collective punishment assassinations against innocent Mexicans until they move down into a little corner of their country. That could be our new Christian Manifest Destiny.

The truth is I'm a Deist, not a Christian. I am just trying to expose some moral, ethical, and political hypocrisy that exist in this country. The American people had better wake up because their government is being robbed and their democracy (republic) is being undermined. Unless you like the idea of living in a cardboard box under a bridge you had better start fighting back. We need to start badgering, boycotting, and practicing civil disobedience against the corrupt pigs currently running our government into the ground, or we are going to wake up one morning in a un-Godly fascist plutocracy without any opportunities to change our economic wellbeing, or anything else.

 

by Chris Fick on Sat Dec 03, 2005 at 04:03:47 AM EST

The Chair of the Republican National Committee is Jewish. It is in keeping with generic prayers at interfaith gatherings, and hopefully in secular pluralistic nations, to have a greeting reflective of the fact that both Dec. 25 and Dec 26 are significant dates this year.

by LIBERAL CROZIER on Sun Dec 04, 2005 at 07:07:43 PM EST

I agree completely that the naming of the "Friend or Foe" campaign is needlessly incendiary and thus (in my opinion) poorly chosen, but I have not been able to corroborate Bruce Prescott's claim that "everyone who substitutes 'Happy Holidays' or 'Seasons Greetings' for 'Merry Christmas' has been labelled a 'foe' of Christianity."

In a PDF sample of the ad Falwell encourages to be run in local papers, Liberty Council promises that it "will bring a lawsuit against any government entity discriminating against religion during this holiday season and will defend any government entity which abides by the Constitution and allows the equal expression of religious views.  Liberty Counsel will also defend those who are persecuted for celebrating the religious aspects of Christmas."

I'm no follower of Falwell's.  I don't listen to him, I don't like him, and I think he says a lot of things that ultimately damages Christianity.

However, so far as I can tell, nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is being said against private individuals and companies who choose to say "Happy Holidays."

If it is wrong of Falwell to misconstrue your side as waging war against Christmas, it is equally wrong for your side to misconstrue that "Friend or Foe" campaign.

I understand that this site has an explicit bias and a cause.  I admit that I'm not an ally of that cause, but let me offer a nickel's worth of free advice:  hypocrisy rarely helps a cause.

If y'all are going to criticize the right for incendiary language (a proper complaint in my opinion), don't engage in such language yourself or promote books that use such language.

And, if I may focus for a moment on the man who began this thread...

It is right for a Christian to complain that Jerry Falwell almost certainly does not focus enough on the fundamentals of what it means to be a Christian or a Baptist -- namely, sharing the gospel and making disciples.

However, it doesn't seem to me that Bruce Prescott's public life is spent sharing the gospel or making disciples, either.  Neither his blog nor his radio show nor his schedule of attending conferences gives me the impression that making disciples is high on his list of priorities.

Is Bruce Prescott in a position to assert that Jerry Falwell has "abandoned the faith of his Baptist ancestors" because his focus is not on making disciples or spreading the gospel?  It is not at all clear to me that the answer is yes.

I'm not making this comment to question or attack the position of this site and those who post on it.  I largely disagree with the position y'all hold, but I have no desire to attack it here on your site.

I'm simply recommending a more careful look at how you advance your position:  by all means, criticize Falwell -- criticize all of us who are to your right -- but do so honestly and without hypocrisy, and you'll do so more convincingly.

by Bubba on Mon Dec 05, 2005 at 09:00:34 AM EST