“Holiday Trees”
December 2nd, 2005 -
“Holiday Treesâ€
Christians in the United States have lately been at pains to express their outrage at the apparent aversion of many other US Citizens to use words such as “Christmasâ€, but few have taken time to ponder why, so, ever at your service, I will examine this question, with your kind indulgence.
Please consider the notorious phrase “Separation of Church and Stateâ€. While many note, and others fail to note, that it is absent from the Constitution, thinkers are wise to reflect on just what Jefferson meant, to wit that the federal government should not be used to force the chosen religion of a numerical majority onto others who subscribe to a different belief. I submit that Jefferson may have meant well, but in fact today Christianity, or more accurately a theocratic perversion of Christianity known as “conservativismâ€, politically dominates our country, and its only significant rival is communism, which goes by the more politically palatable name “liberalismâ€. Only political expediency prevents them from accurately, honestly naming their political machines, “conservative theocrats†and “liberal communists†respectively.
With good reason, “liberals†fear that “conservatives†will continue their attempts to exert control over their fellow citizens through government force; in a word, they fear theocracy. With equally good reason, “conservatives†fear that if the “liberals†return to political prominence, they will consolidate and extend that power through vote-buying wealth redistribution programs; in a word, they fear communism.
For purely economic reasons, most media “spin†what they call news, either right or left. The Senatus Populae-que Americanae, we, don’t wish to be seen as the cause of social malaise, and only a paucity among us dare ask ourselves critically if, and if so how and to what degree, we are indeed to blame. We sleep so much better when we unequivocally blame social malaise on the other side. Knowing this, the media know that their -literally- precious Arbitron ratings, “sweeps week†ratings, and other measurements of audience size and demographic, depend on entertaining us and reaffirming our beliefs. It is for precisely this reason that “liberal†media outlets eschew such terms as Christmas, while “conservative†ones never miss one chance to say “Merry Christmasâ€.
It is my painful duty to accuse both Liberals and Conservatives of ignoring the Constitution, which was intended to constrain the federal government in order that it could in fact be “of, by, and for†all of us. The only way I see to redress this is for all of us to expect much less of the federal government, and to demand that it do only those things allowed by the Constitution.