By Andy Goldberg Dec 21, 2006, 7:35 GMT
Los Angeles - The war in Iraq may be seen as a disaster for US President George W Bush's centre-right Republicans, but let's get one thing straight - US conservatives are having a great year in the War on Christmas.
In case you haven't heard of that conflict between the forces of good and evil, it's the one that's championed by puff-chested right- wing talk show hosts and news commentators, who rail against attempts by businesses, individuals and organizations to wish people 'Happy Holidays,' instead of a good, old-fashioned 'Merry Christmas.'
The most famous general in this war is inflammatory Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, who claims it is part of a 'secular progressive agenda' that includes 'legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage.'
In past years he had a field day come December. In the multi- cultural US, businesses thought they could reach more customers if they avoided reference to the Christian holiday. But this year the pendulum has swung back - and few people seem upset.
Employees at Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart and Walgreens are all wishing their customers 'Merry Christmas.'
In Seattle Airport Christmas trees were returned as the main decoration after being briefly removed in an attempt to appease a rabbi who sought to place a menorah there to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hannukah.
But there was an unfortunate setback for the culture warriors in the Colorado town of Fort Collins. The town council banned a menorah display from public property - and prompted a grass roots campaign among residents of all faiths to place the eight-pronged candelabras in their windows.
'I think the City Council is trying to cover themselves legally, but they're shortsighted about the long-term implications of how this impacts groups,' Jill Kuhn, a non-Jewish resident told the New York Times. 'We're going to put a menorah in our window, and we're going to light it. We hope other people do that too.'
About the only other person publically protesting the Christmas onslaught is Joel Stein, the noted Jewish humourist. 'I'm willing to surrender in this war,' he told his readers in the Los Angeles Times Tuesday. 'As long as you realize that without those of us who don't celebrate Christmas, this nation would lose its purpose. And the chance to have this dumb debate every year.'
Such principled stands for and against Christmas are rare at a time of year that more than anything else is characterized by heavy spending. Americans will buy 31 million Christmas trees and the average Christmas shopper will shell out over 800 dollars on gifts, according to a Gallup Poll.
The survey found that there was little religious intent on the part of gift-buyers, noting that 'there appears to be no relationship between one's depth of religious commitment and one's Christmas budget. In fact, less religious Americans may spend more on Christmas gifts than do active practitioners.'
Not everyone is splashing out however. In San Francisco a group calling themselves The Compact formed last Christmas around a simple idea: 10 friends who pledged to go an entire year without buying any new products.
They make exceptions for stuff like underwear, food and safety products, and they are still allowed to go to restaurants and movies. But they buy everything else secondhand in thrift stores, on the internet, or through classified ads. They also barter and borrow a lot and say they generally find they save a fortune and miss out on very little. The idea has been so successful that across the world regional groups called Subcompacts have formed, with over 1,800 members.
Another group with a unique Christmas spending plan are the controversial radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony who rounded up a bunch of homeless men, gave them a few hundred dollars and told them to go spend it at the upscale Short Hills Mall in New Jersey.
Some may view the Borat-like stunt as a cutting social commentary on America's lack of economic justice, but Mayor Thomas Menino was not amused.
'This so-called 'shopping spree' is a sick and twisted exercise that degrades the most vulnerable members of our society,' he said, with barely a mention for those other victims - the upscale shoppers forced to mingle with the bedraggled men as they searched for that perfect Christmas gift.
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