My Enduring Love-Hate Relationship with Mr. Hitchens

Today, I suppose, it's love. Hitchens has published a few articles on Slate about Obama's dismal choice of Rick Warren for his inaugural invocation. I recommend going to Slate and reading them at your leisure. In the meantime, however, I think this sentiment sums it up pretty well:

A president may by all means use his office to gain re-election, to shore up his existing base, or to attract a new one. But the day of his inauguration is not one of the days on which he should be doing that. It is an event that belongs principally to the voters and to their descendants, who are called to see that a long tradition of peaceful transition is cheerfully upheld, even in those years when the outcome is disputed. I would myself say that it doesn't need a clerical invocation at all, since, to borrow Lincoln's observation about Gettysburg, it has already been consecrated. But if we must have an officiating priest, let it be some dignified old hypocrite with no factional allegiance and not a tree-shaking huckster and publicity seeker who believes that millions of his fellow citizens are hellbound because they do not meet his own low and vulgar standards.

Amen.

Lance Don't Surf Either

Charlie don't surf, and now neither does Lance B. Johnson, the surfer-turned-soldier in Apocalypse Now. Sam Bottoms, who offered a compelling performance in the small but critical role, has died of brain cancer at the age of 53. Fortunately for those of us who watch the movie frequently, he will live on forever, dodging enemy artillery up the Nung River.

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Satan Uses Christmas Trees to Stoke the Fires of Hell

All across the country the Freedom From Religion Foundation, headed up by former evangelical preacher Dan Barker, has been placing signs alongside Christian placards and Nativity scenes to celebrate the winter solstice. Of course, Christian organizations have vehemently protested the Foundation's displays. "It's not that we are trying to coerce anyone; in a way our sign is a signal of protest," Barker said. "If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don't bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views."

'Tis the season, they say, which means people like Bill O'Reilly are preparing to defend their beliefs from an unidentified and undefined enemy who, they argue, wages a yearly war against Christmas. But when emotions are put aside for the small consideration of logic and free expression, reason should prevail. Atheists and agnostics have rights and principles and beliefs too. All we're seeking is to engage our audience and ensure that they are represented along with everyone else. The O'Reillys of this world continue to assert that this country's traditions are rooted in Judeo-Christian beliefs. And yet, in this context, one must wonder where the Judeo half of this couple find the same representation during the holidays. How many Jews are caroling about the birth of Jesus? And angry Christians also seem to ignore a powerful point made by the Foundation: people celebrated the winter solstice long before Christianity came to be. So wouldn't it be fair to say that it was actually Christianity intruding on the holiday? After all, Jesus was not born in December, a fact substantiated even by liturgical documents in the Catholic Church.

"There are a lot of people out there who don't know there are organizations like ours to serve their needs," said Fred Edwords, the spokesperson for the American Humanist Association. "The thing is, to reach a minority group, in order to be heard, everyone in the room has to hear you, even when they don't want to."

"Although a number of humanists and atheists continue to attempt to rid God and Christmas from the public square, the American people are overwhelmingly opposed to such efforts," Roberta Combs, the group's president said in a press release.

"We will ask our millions of supporters to call the city of Washington, D.C., and Congress to stop this un-Godly campaign."

As far as the criticism goes, Edwords said there are far more controversial placards in Washington.

"That's D.C. -- this is a political center," he said. "If I can see a placard with dead fetuses on it, I think someone can look at our question and just think about it."

It's pathetic to me that Christians, in great numbers, seem to feel that without a solid belief in their god, no reason exists to behave. Personally, I think the American Humanist Association's ad campaign strikes the only meaningful tone, and one that Jesus himself would undoubtedly have endorsed: just be good for goodness sake. And one last point here. If Christians wish to preserve the "integrity" and "spirit" of the birth of their savior, they need to abandon all pagan practices associated with the holiday. No more Father Christmas, no more trees, no more yule logs, no more holly, no more mistletoe, no more gifts. Have fun straining your asses on the hard pews of your church instead of roasting chestnuts on the fire.

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