Christmas in America - 2010
Consider these Christmas-related news stories of the last few days in December 2010: • Nina Totenberg, the long-time, quintessential voice of smug liberalism on National Public Radio, goes out of her way in a television interview to apologize for referring to herself as having attended "forgive the expression" (her words) a “Christmas party” [GASP] in Washington. • Ross Douthat, the nominal conservative intellectual voice at the New York Times op-ed page, writes of the Christmas season as “A Tough Season for Believers", where he tries to prove his smug bona-fides to NYT readers by tut-tutting his view of the weakening condition of Christianity and avowing that today’s enlightened culture recognizes that “the idea of a single religious truth seems increasingly passé”. • Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issues an executive order last year encouraging the celebration of Christmas and Hanukkah and prohibiting any censorship of these religious holidays. She noted the ridiculous re-naming of Christmas trees as “holiday” trees, and renaming of Menorahs as “candlesticks” , and proclaimed “under my administration, I will call things what they are...a Christmas Tree and a Menorah... and will gladly allow both Christmas and Hanukkah to be celebrated at the State Capitol. I encourage my colleagues and fellow elected officials to do the same.” She highlights the order in an email this year, and signs off with "Merry Christmas!". Hmmmmm. A left-wing NPR personality clearly believes she must apologize for referring to a Christmas party as a “Christmas party”; an intellectual at the NYT provides a sophisticated slap at the notion of Christianity’s continuing vitality and relevance, and a Governor who just won re-election by 15 points over her left-wing challenger reaffirms an order encouraging the honest celebration of Christmas. Here is the essence of America’s culture war—yet is there any doubt which one is in synch with the heart and soul of America? Douthat has captured the essence of godless intellectualism, by proclaiming in effect that there is no such thing as truth—that to think otherwise is ‘passe’. Totenberg is eager to prove she is anything but passé, and tries desperately to convey that she is oh-so-aware of how offensive it is to mention Christmas at this time of year. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, a resoundingly re-elected Governor whose judgment on right and wrong, good and evil, and American exceptionalism—all of which are directly related to the core question of whether there is such a thing as truth—is 180 degrees out of phase with the liberal elites. We happen to see great reason for hope and optimism in these anecdotes. It is only because of the outsized visibility of the media that Americans are led to believe there is in America a 50/50 split on so-called ‘cultural issues’. There isn’t. And because a radical leftist like Obama misrepresented his way into the White House, Americans are led to believe Obama’s pronouncements to the effect that America is not "a Christian nation" have some sort of substantive authority and popular support behind them. They don’t. Americans know their nation as founded was and is a Judeo-Christian nation. They know the Judeo-Christian foundation of their nation is the basis of its exceptionalism. They know instinctively that such exceptionalism springs from the truth of America’s founding ideals. Americans also know that when liberal elites try to explain or persuade or simply comment on matters of Christian faith, they just cannot connect at any substantive level because they simply do not know what they are talking about. So they mistake controversies and failings among Christian religious leaders—the only things they know about religion—as evidence that reasonable people no longer could or should have faith in anything. But human failings have been around as long as humans have been around. The Christian’s faith isn’t shattered by news of human shortcomings; it is strengthened and made the source of great gratitude because Christian teaching is what makes clear what the shortcoming is and why it falls short of what we’re capable of. It also lights the path for overcoming such shortcomings. Christmas reminds most Americans of all these blessings; it reminds Americans of the link between Christianity and the founding of America—as so many Presidents have acknowledged. Whether or not a bullet-point formulation of what comprises Christian faith can be articulated to the satisfaction of a NYT op-ed writer is irrelevant to whether that Christian faith exists and is strong in individual hearts throughout the country. We think the November 2nd election results had far more to do with the stirring of this Christian faith than anything else. We suspect it’s a factor in why Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is a rising star, and NPR and the New York Times may go bankrupt. Christmas in America is not an occasion for apology, nor is it a tough season for believers. It’s a source of great hope and strength, and always will be. Truth is like that. Paul Gable December 20, 2010 |