11 DEC 05: PEACE ON EARTH?
Crowds of people lined the streets of downtown Columbus and Phenix City Saturday, for the annual Bi-City Christmas Parade. Organizers no doubt were thankful for one thing - that they've never changed the parade's name, to inspire angry Christians to show up with protest signs.
I can no longer remain silent on what seems to be the hottest topic in the country. Some people are more vocal than ever, in insisting things have "Christmas" labels on them instead of "holiday." But you have to give one business credit - so far, the Holiday Inn on Manchester Expressway is refusing to budge.
The vocal group claims by using phrases such as "Happy Holidays," the nation at large is trying to get rid of Christmas. I never realized Target and Wal-Mart really were selling gifts for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa....
Perhaps the wildest example of the "Christmas vs. Holiday" fight unfolded this past week at Auburn University. The campus tree on Samford Lawn is called a "holiday tree" - so some students and residents put up their own "Christ Tree" at Toomer's Corner. So why didn't they decorate it with rolls of toilet paper?
The "Christ Tree" went up after the Auburn Student Senate voted down a proposal to rename the "holiday tree" a Christmas tree. Supporters of the change actually accused Auburn of censorship -- but I had the feeling the Holliday family simply might have been better organized.
But as a caller told me Friday: "It's not a 'Christ Tree.' It's a Christmas tree." I can see the caller's point. Jesus wasn't born in a tree - but the Bible says He died on one, and I don't think it was an evergreen.
And this is where I start to find fault with ALL sides in the "Christmas vs. holiday" debate. For one thing, who said you HAVE to put up a decorated tree at this time of year? If everyone in Brazil did this, some of us would be nervous about rain forest devastation....
There are plenty of other questions which "conservative Christians" fighting for Christmas need to answer:
+ Why do you claim the people who say "Happy Holidays" are guilty of political correctness? By forcing people to say "Merry Christmas," aren't you imposing some political correctness of your own? Or do conservatives never do that?
+ By rejecting the phrase "Happy Holidays," aren't you subtly slapping Jews who mark Hanukkah? And if anyone is keeping Festivus and feeling slighted, please let us know....
+ Why don't you go after all the Santa Claus displays, while you're at it? He's probably bigger competition for Jesus at this time of year than anybody else.
+ Are you going to demand big churches like First Baptist of Atlanta be open for services on December 25? If low attendance is a good reason to be closed, some congregations might as well lock their doors from June to August.
+ How can you be so sure Jesus was born in December 25, anyway? Doesn't the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" have the line, "In the beauty of the LILIES, Christ was born across the sea?" All I see around right now are poinsettias.
If I'm planting questions in your head with all this - good. I posted a lengthy article several years ago, challenging one minister's views on keeping Christmas AT ALL. But I stop short of quoting Lucy's famous line in the TV special: "It's run by a big Eastern syndicate, you know" - since Wal-Mart is based in Arkansas.
As a believing Christian who does NOT keep Christmas, it's discomforting to see some religious zealots try to ram it down my throat. After all, where will this wave stop? Do they want all radio stations to be like "Sunny 100 FM," and pay
Christmas songs over Thanksgiving dinner?
E-MAIL UPDATE: We've received another message from the blogger we mentioned here 8 Dec. Hmmmm - which blogger might that be?
Richard:
That was quite kind of you to spend so much time on my little blog. I was hoping for a quick blurb. But golly, gee. You really spent a lot of time on it. Thank you.
For what it's worth, yes, I'm a Catfish fan. Actually, I'm a baseball fan, and the Catfish are the local team. I used to cheer for the Sand Gnats when I lived near Savannah, but attended Red Stixx games, Waves games, and Catfish games since moving here.
Oh, the first baseman was "our" player. The wife and I were his host family.
The lighthouse is Tybee Light. And the river is the Altamaha, Georgia's largest river system.
Regarding CBS, yes, I link to them. And Wonkette. And aTypical Joe. And other liberal bloggers. But mostly I link to conservative bloggers, since most of my blogroll is conservative bloggers.
And the Weblog awards aren't for conservative blogs, but it's run by a conservative blog, so most of the people who nominate blogs are conservative. And that causes it to be dominated by conservative blogs.
Enough rambling. I really want to thank you for the mention. Correction: thank you for the article. I really do appreciate it.
David
You're welcome, B.... hey, wait a minute! David?!?! Is Basil this blogger's pen name? Well, maybe in the Internet era they should be "keyboard names."
I'm sure the Columbus Catfish management is pleased to have Basil as a loyal baseball fan. And the Columbus Sports Council is thrilled to find ANY loyal pro baseball fans in town....
But I didn't realize Columbus Catfish players have "host families." If Darryl Strawberry had one during his major league career, his story might have turned out very different.
What do you think - is "Tybee Light" simply the name of a lighthouse at Tybee Island? Or has some Savannah version of the Cannon Brew Pub made a beer brand, too?
We actually have a second letter about this award-nominated blogger:
Hi Richard-
I just finished perusing your post entitled "A Dash of Basil".
I writing to confirm to you that Basil is a very big Catfish fan. In fact, I would venture to say that he's their #1 fan. The SportsLady and I had many wonderful conversations with Basil at the games the last two summers, and with the impending move to the Sunshine State, we'll miss the chance to rekindle our "horsehide chats" behind home plate.
At any rate, I'm taking this opportunity to congratulate Basil on being named a finalist for the Weblog Awards. It couldn't have happened to a better guy....that roots for the Fish.
Ciao...for now.
For the record, this Cory is engaged to "Sportslady" Kirsten Olesen. After moving to Fort Myers, Florida, they plan to wed in Michigan on the weekend of Super Bowl XL in Detroit - so this could be an Extra-Large wedding.
A "horsehide chat," eh? That phrase probably means one thing at Golden Park, and something very different at Butts Mill Farm....
Now let's make a quick check of other weekend wonders:
+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported the Columbus Library Board wants to buy the Firestone store, on the corner of Macon Road next to the main library. Now there's a winning artistic idea - putting a stack of books on a hydraulic lift.
+ Bill Heard Chevrolet staged a wild promotion with a monster truck. If the truck can "crush your car," you get a $2,000 discount on a new car. But what if it only bends my hood down a little? Do I win a free trip to the body shop?
+ An Atlanta man was handcuffed and detained for two hours, because he was given money for offering someone a MARTA token. I guess it's only acceptable to give money to the beggars around MARTA stations -- the ones who want 75 cents for dinner.
(A MARTA spokesperson noted it's against the law for members of the public to sell transit tokens. I guess my "collector's edition" tokens from the 1996 Paralympics and the Ringling Brothers circus will gather dust in my drawer for years to come.)
+ The Columbus Civic Center hosted the Georgia High School Cheerleading Championships. Ever careful with the budget, city crews believe they obtained enough energy from the cheerleaders to light and heat the building for a week.
+ The Columbus State women's basketball team beat West Georgia 71-63, giving coach Jay Sparks his 300th career win. It's only a matter of time before he finds his perfect job - coaching the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks.
(Meanwhile, the C.S.U. men went to North Carolina Central and lost 97-50 - the worst loss in Cougar history. If you're going to be a punching bag for a Division I team, at least go to Chapel Hill and get a bigger payday out of it.)
+ The Atlanta Hawks stunned the N.B.A. champion San Antonio Spurs 94-84. Yes, the worst team in basketball beat the best one - and amazingly, there was no sign of Eva Longoria distracting San Antonio boyfriend Tony Parker.
+ Instant Message to the Columbus rap group Money Boyz: After seeing your video on WLGA's "Street TV" Saturday night -- well, I'll put it this way. I no longer have to GUESS what a drug hallucination feels like....
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