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**italertb** · 12-14-2005, 02:58 PM

Actually, I have an interesting follow up suggestion. Whether you subscribe to the collection of anecdotal evidence, power of suggestion, and urban legend that is "The War on Christmas" (duhn duhn duhn!) or not, I think everyone would agree that there is certainly a lot of media attention, discussion, and whatnot about it.

Now, let's just say for argument's sake that political pundits and chicken littles from the hard right were doing just the tiniest bit of shit-stirring and smoke blowing (remember - argument's sake). Now, if this were happening, might all the media attention regarding the war on Christmas have an adverse effect?

To be clear, let's say that Joe is a small business owner who gets a lot of email forwards, reads a lot of blogs, and is generally politically interested. Let's say that Joe gets lots of emails from his right wing friends about how Christmas is under seige, how the ACLU sues people who say the word "Christmas", how all the major corporations refuse to have denominational decorations, etc. Might such a Joe not just walk over to his store-front window, and replace the "Merry Christmas" sign, out of fear of retribution, inspired by his 'concerned' friends?

Is the war on Christmas a self-fulfilling prophecy? Are corporations taking down the Christmas trees because crusading nut-job Bill O'Reilly assures them they'll be sued if they don't?

Did anyone know that in 2003, the ACLU stepped into defend kids who had been suspended from school for selling candy-canes?
http://www.aclu.org/religion/tencomm...s20050302.html

Did anyone know that a similar "War on Christmas" was waged by the communists in 1959? And by Jews in 1921? Is this Christmas War III?

12-14-2005, 02:58 PM	#5
italertb Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 419 Senior Member	Actually, I have an interesting follow up suggestion. Whether you subscribe to the collection of anecdotal evidence, power of suggestion, and urban legend that is "The War on Christmas" (duhn duhn duhn!) or not, I think everyone would agree that there is certainly a lot of media attention, discussion, and whatnot about it. Now, let's just say for argument's sake that political pundits and chicken littles from the hard right were doing just the tiniest bit of shit-stirring and smoke blowing (remember - argument's sake). Now, if this were happening, might all the media attention regarding the war on Christmas have an adverse effect? To be clear, let's say that Joe is a small business owner who gets a lot of email forwards, reads a lot of blogs, and is generally politically interested. Let's say that Joe gets lots of emails from his right wing friends about how Christmas is under seige, how the ACLU sues people who say the word "Christmas", how all the major corporations refuse to have denominational decorations, etc. Might such a Joe not just walk over to his store-front window, and replace the "Merry Christmas" sign, out of fear of retribution, inspired by his 'concerned' friends? Is the war on Christmas a self-fulfilling prophecy? Are corporations taking down the Christmas trees because crusading nut-job Bill O'Reilly assures them they'll be sued if they don't? Did anyone know that in 2003, the ACLU stepped into defend kids who had been suspended from school for selling candy-canes? http://www.aclu.org/religion/tencomm...s20050302.html Did anyone know that a similar "War on Christmas" was waged by the communists in 1959? And by Jews in 1921? Is this Christmas War III?
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