Religious Right's 'War On Christmas' is bogus, says Americans United.Religious Right groups and their allies in the right-wing media spent much of November and December insisting that American public schools, government and culture are engaged in a wideranging "war on Christmas"--but when conservative groups were asked to prove their allegations, they failed utterly. Americans United analyzed a list of alleged "war on Christmas" incidents circulated by the Religious Right. The incidents, AU found, were a mishmash mish·mash n. A collection or mixture of unrelated things; a hodgepodge. [Middle English misse-masche, probably reduplication of mash, soft mixture; see mash. of outright lies, hearsay hearsay: see evidence. and gross distortion of facts. "This isn't a war on Christmas--it's not even a skirmish," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn Reverend Barry W. Lynn (born 1948 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992.[1] , executive director of Americans United. "When the facts are exposed, the Religious Right's 'war on Christmas' melts faster than a snowman on an 80-degree day." Among the incidents debunked by Americans United is a tale frequently told by Fox News Channel commentator John Gibson John Gibson is a common name, shared by:
A spokeswoman for the Plano schools told Americans United that the district has no such policy and expressed frustration that the story continues to circulate. The Piano schools got so many inquiries about the matter that they had to post an item on their Web site repudiating the rumor, and school attorneys wrote to O'Reilly, seeking a clarification. A similar claim about public schools in Saginaw Township, Mich., also turned out to be false. Another story that surfaced in the media last month centered on a public school in Wisconsin that allegedly changed the lyrics to "Silent Night" to remove religious references. The right-wing's implication was that school officials censored the song. In fact, the school for several years has produced a play called "The Little Christmas Little Christmas, or Nollaig Bheag in the Irish language, is one of the traditional names in Ireland for January 6, more commonly known in the rest of the world as the Epiphany. Tree's Gift," about a scraggly scrag·gly adj. scrag·gli·er, scrag·gli·est Ragged; unkempt. Adj. 1. scraggly - lacking neatness or order; "the old man's scraggly beard"; "a scraggly little path to the door" Christmas tree Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. that wants a home. The play uses the melodies of several familiar Christmas carols A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics center on the theme of Christmas or that has become associated with the Christmas season even though its lyrics may not specifically refer to Christmas. Both types of Christmas carols are included in this list. but with different words to fit the play's theme. "The Religious Right used the season of peace and goodwill to press a political agenda and divide the American people An American people may be:
Aside from issuing the report, Americans United staff members went on the offensive to debunk de·bunk tr.v. de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug. Religious Right propaganda about Christmas. AU's Lynn released an "Open Letter to Jerry Falwell" that read in part, "Contrary to your wild allegations, Jerry, neither Americans United, nor any other civil liberties organization that I know of, is waging any kind of war on Christmas. The First Amendment of our Constitution ensures every American's right to observe religious holidays or to refrain from doing so. We can wish each other a 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holidays,' and it's really none of your business which term we choose. We can call our decorated tree a 'Christmas tree' or a 'holiday tree,' and that's our right. (We can observe the holidays of other traditions as well.)" Continued the letter, "I think we all know what's really going on with your campaign. You want an America where there is no separation of church and state
- Shak. See also: Tear the protective church-state wall that guarantees our freedoms." AU staffers charged that Falwell, who was roundly criticized for saying that America deserved to be attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, was trying to rehabilitate his reputation by posing as the protector of Christmas. AU also noted that some of the Religious Right's complaints were trivial. For example, many fight-wing groups carped about clerks in stores greeting customers with the phrase "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Many businesses do this simply because they know their customers come from many faith traditions and want to include them all by using an inclusive greeting. Even the White House holiday card, AU pointed out, contained no references to Christmas. The card 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 Frolic - A Prolog system in Common Lisp. ftp://ftp.cs.utah.edu/pub/frolic.tar.Z. on the lawn. It contains no religious symbolism. "Have President Bush and the first lady joined the so-called war on Christmas?" asked Lynn with tongue planted firmly in cheek. "Where are the howls of protest from Jerry Falwell? When will he stand up and save Christmas from this mean-spirited, anti-God attack?" The full American United's analysis of the Religious Right "war on Christmas" list is available online at www.au.org |
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