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Repiglican Roast

A spirited discussion of public policy and current issues

Name: TheFuriousGourmet

Location: The mouth of being

I'm furious about my squandered nation.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005

The Meaning of the War Over Christmas

an excerpt

You have to hand it to political operatives who can turn the Christmas celebration of Jesus’s birth into a nasty wedge issue, transforming a traditional message of love, peace and tolerance into one of anger, conflict and resentment.

The success of the American Right in extracting a “war on Christmas” out of a few well-meaning gestures to non-Christians, such as using the greeting “Happy Holidays,” is a testament to the investment conservatives have made in media over three decades.

With their vertically integrated media apparatus – from newspapers and magazines, to TV and radio, to books and the Internet – the Right now can take a few scattered anecdotes on almost any topic and heat them up into a hot-button issue.

This “perception management” capability is now so powerful that even the most absurd notions can be made convincing to millions of Americans, such as the idea that despite the ubiquitous Christmas displays throughout the United States – from before Thanksgiving to after Dec. 25 – Christmas is under assault.

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