Obamabaum, Obamabaum!

I just unfriended two people from my Facebook account. Both women were friends from my high school days. 'Shelly,' 'Annette' (not their real names) and I were in the Chorus and Drama clubs and we performed together through several of my high school years. I was genuinely happy to reconnect with both them, at first. And while I was suspect of their often "Christian values" posts, I usually let them slide.

But today, 'Shelly' posted this on Facebook (and forgive me for paraphrasing a bit):

"I just read that President Obama has declared there will not be a Christmas Tree at the White House this year. He said that America is not a Christian nation and the tree would be called a 'Holiday Tree.' I am outraged that he would do so, as America is a Christian nation, founded by Christians."

'Annette' responded with "Obama is an idiot!"

Of course, I couldn't help myself and responded to 'Shelly' thus: "Sorry, Shelly. The United States is a secular nation by design of the framers of the Constitution, who very clearly and deliberately left religion out of it." 

Almost immediately, both of these so-called 'friends' attacked me. One said, "If you don't believe in Christ, you should be forced to work on Christmas." The other one responded that I was destined to "...burn in Hell." And even after another mutual friend posted a link to Snopes.com debunking the story, the attacks on me and my views on organized religion (particularly on Christianity) continued. I would have gone on to compare these two women to other religious fanatics (see: 9/11; The Taliban; the KKK; David Koresh; Jim Jones), but I knew no sane argument would be deemed valid in their eyes. 

Here's the thing: Christmas in the U.S. is mostly celebrated as a secular holiday in which we honor those we love with food and gifts. Yes, to many it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, a man many believe was the son of God. To me, and the majority of my real friends, it is a time to acknowledge the love and joy we bring into each others' lives. Christmas may have started out as a religious holiday, but it has become more about the celebration of Humanity and love. The 'Spirit of Christmas' is all about celebrating our commonality, not our differences. 

When 'Christians' use their religion to attack or scorn others, they're behaving in the most un-Christian way I can imagine. If there is a 'God,' I can only imagine that He or She is shaking His/Her head in despair at how wrong so many have gotten His/Her message over the years. Drinking the Kool-Aid is never a good idea, kids.

Here's some more insanity from a fanatic 'Christian:'

Yikes! I fear for the nation's sanity.

More, anon.
Prospero