Ours is a society that likes to define social phenomena in militaristic terms. There’s the war on drugs, the war on terror, the culture wars, and, of course, the war on Christmas. For the past few years, conservative Christians have made a great deal of political hay by sounding the alarms and warning the faithful about the insidious forces attempting to secularize the holiday. Leaving aside the legitimacy of these claims, the war on Christmas is a cash cow for conservative organizations. Some statistics:
- The Mississippi-based American Family Association says it has sold more than 500,000 buttons and 125,000 bumper stickers bearing the slogan “Merry Christmas: It’s Worth Saying.”
- The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal aid group that boasts a network of some 900 lawyers standing ready to “defend Christmas,” says it has moved about 20,000 “Christmas packs.” The packs, available for a suggested $29 donation, include a three-page legal memo and two lapel pins.
- And Liberty Counsel, a conservative law firm affiliated with the Rev. Jerry Falwell, says it has sold 12,500 legal memos on celebrating Christmas and 8,000 of its own buttons and bumper stickers.
I have no doubt that these organizations would defend themselves by saying that the money is used to defend all that is good and decent and sacred in America. But speaking as a unapologetic secularist, at least I’m not trying to make a quick buck by inciting my followers (yes, all six of you) into a paranoid frenzy.
