O'Reilly has been on this kick for years. He believes the traditions of Christmas are in jeopardy because, among other things, retailers have stopped using the word Christmas in their advertisements, the American Civil Liberties Union has insisted and many ctites and states agree that religious themes are not appropriate in public settings and the phrases "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" are discriminatory against Christians.
Apparently, according to his logic, if people stop saying "Merry Christmas" to you when you make your purchases at retailers, the United States will turn into Canada! O'Reilly wrote:
Secular progressives realize that America as it is now will never approve of gay marriage, partial birth abortion, euthanasia, legalized drugs, income redistribution through taxation, and many other progressive visions because of religious opposition.
But if the secularists can destroy religion in the public arena, the brave new progressive world is a possibility. That's what happened in Canada.
In 1980, 79 percent of Canadians said that religion was important for the nation there. That number has now dropped to 61percent.
In 1971, less than one percent of the Canadian population reported having no religion. That number has now risen to 16 percent.
The fall of religion in Canada has corresponded to the rise in progressive public policy. Most Canadians now favor gay marriage. The age of consent for sex is 14 years. That means if you're an adult and you have sex with a 15-year-old, that's fine. Welfare's double what it is in the USA. And the Canadian military is almost non-existent. Drug decriminalization is a reality, as is any kind of abortion.
The Canadian model is what progressive Americans are shooting for. Thus, Christian displays like Christmas must be scaled back because the connection with Judeo-Christian beliefs is bad for the secular agenda.
He rants and raves that Christmas traditions are being destroyed and that Ulysses S. Grant made Christmas a federal holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Well, he doesn't have that quite right. The wording of the bill passed in 1870 says nothing of Jesus Christ. It simply states that there will be no business and that the District of Columbia will be closed on January 1, July 4 and December 25. (It also declares that Sunday is the first day of the week, thereby giving credence that Saturday is the sabbath.)
Private property and churches are appropriate for nativity scenes and many of the traditions that O'Reailly is seeking to defend, federal buildings are not. Wishing a person a happy holiday is not an affront to Christmas, it is a statement seeking to be as inclusive as possible for people of all religions and beliefs. Views on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion and drug use do not always fall along religious lines; I'm Catholic and support all of the aforementioned in one shape or form.
Christmas tradition is fluid and has evolved immensely over the centuries. Previously, Christmas has been banned in the United States, Christmas has been celebrated as late as January 12th and Christmas has taken traditions from many pagan celebrations and incorporated them (The History Channel has a great show on the history of Christmas. Click this link for sow times: http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&showId=203415.)
Christmas is alive and well in the United States, but religious fascism is on the decline;that's the real issue that O'Reilly is concerned about. He's really declared "War on Change."
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