We can all rest easy now that the war on Christmas is behind us. What a bitter conflict it was. Legions of imaginary atheists descended upon the righteous Bill O'Reilly viewers in a desperate attempt to destroy their sacred holiday. While most real atheists were celebrating Christmas with their families, these fictional atheists were plotting to...gasp...ban the Bible. Now we can all rest easy, knowing that the O'Reilly army managed to win another victory.
The problem is that another war is brewing. According to an article by Stephanie Simon in The Olympian on December 23, 2006 (see article here), the war on Christmas has been so profitable that the Christian right is already planning for a war on Easter. After the American Family Association earned $550,000 from sales of items branded with "Merry Christmas: It's Worth Saving," it became clear that creating fake wars would not easily be abandoned.
What are we to expect from this manufactured war on Easter? According to Simon,
Scouts for the American Family Association, which is based in Tupelo, Miss., will keep a keen eye out for stores that promote "spring baskets" or "spring bonnets" instead of celebrating Christ's resurrection. The group already has laid in a stash of Easter buttons, featuring three gold crosses and the words "He Lives." They'll go on sale just after New Year's.
I know this bothers those of us who belong to the growing number of non-believers in America. As I have noted elsewhere, what baffles me is that people actually buy into this "war." They truly believe that their holidays are under attack by evil atheists/secularists/Darwinists/scientists.
However, it seems like these transparent attempts to profit from artificially induced fear just might be upsetting to Christians as well. After all, Christians are the ones who run the risk of having their beliefs associated with this lunatic fringe of Bill O'Reillys. It continues to surprise me that more Christians don't speak out against these imaginary. Their silence gives the impression that the extremists speak for them.
When the war on Easter rolls out, it would be great if believers and nonbelievers would stand together to point out its absurdity. I fear that these wars will continue as long as they are profitable. Unfortunately, they cost far more in terms of continuing to divide America than they earn.