By Mandt of
Adgitadiaries...bow so that you might be worthy of such a read...
(Away-in-some-manger)
This is going to be one of these "Oh Shut Up" screeds in the tradition of Adgita's impatience with bloviating, concept non-enhanced Christmas terrorists. So we're going to celebrate the holiday season good time full-steam ahead, and with no footnotes. First a little notice from somewhere out there on the Internets:
*"For the last few years each December has included a special treat for bloggers: assorted right wing pundits saying astonishingly dumb things about how Christmas is "under attack."
*"Yeah, but it's been a boon for left-wing anti-Christian bloggers such as yourself, as it gives you something to Mock!"
Well, yes. Let's go to mock one with our left wing, even our right wing. Even both wings and an angelic look-see at "anti-Christian." And we do so hope to offend you nasty little souls, engaged in self-righteous mission with deprecating humor at the expense of your cracker barrel religious absurdity. You must realize that there are Christians out there who do turn the other cheek, provided it's in your direction and the left side of a full moon. But fear not, herein we concentrate on the Star of Wonders. We are laughing at you, not with you by simply looking at the essence of Christmas, a simple, astonishing event that cannot be sold or purchased at any price and never compromised by an advertising campaign.
We begin with a fractured Christmas Carol:
How-a-bout:
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus, died on the hay.
The neo-cons are lowing, the Wal-Mart awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
I don't blame you for leaving and it just makes me cry.
Be near me, Lord Jesus, please return and do stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
Bless all bottom lines in Thy tender care,
Or fit us for a gated Heaven to live with Thee there.
All the 'War on Christmas' nonsense was stirred up by last year by pathetic womanizer Bill O'Reilly in an attempt to get some much needed attention and resurrect his tired-out blab stick. Never has there been a more urgent need for an "Oh Shut Up." Other 'journocreeps' soon joined the bandwagon. Some are better known than others like FOX Snooze's John Gibson. Soon, we expect CNN's Nancy Grace to appear live at the manger with an in-depth expose on how the death really occurred.
For those upset at the manger death rap, don't be. Onward Christian soldier persons! Have faith! But, for now back to O'Reilly and minions. O'Reilly's seasonal stunt decries the purported war on Christmas, claiming that "It's all part of the secular progress agenda....to get Christianity and spirituality and (how very neo-con liberal) Judaism out of the public square." He then added: "Because if you look at what happened in Western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programs, like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will ( a left wing yoga position?), gay marriage, because opposition to those things is religion based, usually." But what about our personal favs' like bestiality, Senatorial 'pedernasty', necrophilia, cannibalism and amateur forensics?
FOX Snooze's, John Gibson ( No relation to anti-Semite, 'The Passion's' , Smell Gibson) has got his holy credit card in a bunch over "which American stores are using 'Christmas' in advertising this season and which are not." Gibson, a nit wit screech in the vein of Ann Coulter, is the author of a scathing expose, "The War on Christmas: How The Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought" (Penguin 2005). He dances in the type of reasoning that only a paranoid loser could imagine: "Average American Christians wouldn't have thought there even was a "War on Christmas," and they certainly wouldn't have thought it was worse than they didn't think it was." Right! What? Doesn't this remind you of Donnie Rumsfeldt's: "We now know what we didn't know we didn't know"? Know them by their stupidity my friends. It's so easy to tell now-a-days, humm?
We are so grateful that FOX Snooze has blown the lid of what we didn't know what we didn't know. Apparently, "The War on Christmas" has been authorized by the founder and leader of this movement, George Soros, to "acknowledge its existence and call upon his fellow Christmas-haters to make themselves known and to take it to the streets in a no-longer secret campaign." Sigh. If this weren't so tiresome it would be hilarious. I think Jane Fonda was mentioned somewhere in spite of the fact that she's 'born again' and nobody under thirty knows who the hell she is. No doubt Tela Tubbies, Sponge Bob, Pinky, Tinkerbell, and god knows (pardon the pun) the Tooth Fairy are in on the conspiracy except when getting copyright royalties from production and sales revenues from Wal-Mart et. all. Oh, did we mention George Soros makes his billions from currency exchange rates, so it doesn't figure.
What happened to the baby Jesus in all this commercial angst?:
"The Second Coming"
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction; the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
And:
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?
And:
THE MAGI
Now as at all times I can see in the mind's eye,
In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale unsatisfied ones
Appear and disappear in the blue depth of the sky
With all their ancient faces like rain-beaten stones,
And all their helms of silver hovering side by side,
And all their eyes still fixed, hoping to find once more,
Being by Calvary's turbulence unsatisfied,
The uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor.
W.B. Yeats
No doubt, Yeats sensed that which is divine cannot be named; unlike the certainty of our yapping neo-con terriers, who prophetically deny America's uncontrollable, drastic financial mystery. These pundits divine that our Iraqi Calvary's turbulence may be satisfied by a more committed, Christ centered, commercial miracle. The ‘yappers' don't seem to understand that the 'holi' in holiday means holy day, not ‘shop till ya pop' day. In the greatest of ironies these crazies who want Christmas returned to advertising and commercial cannibalism reflect the early medieval period when Christmas was a real 'out and out' party time. .
Later, from the middle of the 17th century, Puritans worked hard to suppress the excesses of Christmas celebrations in both Europe and America. As Christ's birth date was unknown (HELLO) from the Gospels and because Christmas had become too entwined with the old pagan ways and excesses of the Saturnalia/ winter solstice celebrations, the Puritans decided to ban all Christmas activities including the decorating of houses, partying and even cooking or eating mince pies (Oh No!). You can see where this is leading. Our neo-con, evangelical ‘nutwings' so enamored of all the Puritan 'no' 'no's' have decided that if such Saturnalia is equaled to 'Christ' then all is well. It goes without saying these people desperately need twelve step programs. But, come to think of it, look at comedian 'journotainer' Glen Beck and clearly more is needed. It a double irony that the faux crusades of the 'War on Christmas' is actually a blasphemous and grossly disrespectful assault on the true meaning of Christmas.
The true meaning of Christmas is so simple, so powerful and so healing that no one is denied the benefits and nurturance of its blessings. The ordinary Christians that folks like O'Reilly and Gibson insult with condescension know perfectly well that "the War on Christmas" is a tub of horse shit. People of faith celebrate life, celebrate the miracles of faith as experience dictates, struggle with the harsh realities of life and constantly renew the desire to make manifest the meaning of Christmas. It's all there, found in the Western world's most inspired, popular novel:
MATTHEW, 5
The Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteous, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peace makers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
If you happen to find a long haired man whacking away at the Santa Bubbles on sale at Wal-Mart, yelling something about 'money changers' follow him down to the police station, pay his bail, buy him dinner and thank him for the reminder that Christmas can't be found at the sale counter. Celebrate and rejoice! Absolutely everyone of good heart is welcome at the table. Jesus wasn't a Christian you know. As we recall, all were invited to the 'kingdom.'--- only that's another story. Stay tuned. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!.
Dedicated to Comandate Agi
RIP Peter Boyle
Pic...thanks Fat Lady Sings...
