Stupid Then, Stupid Now: War On Christmas and Shari'a Law

The new stupid.

Foreigners will have to forgive American conservatives. Every so many odd years that come up with a new "threat" to "American values". The threat is always some deranged idiocy which is loudly touted by Fox News in order to appeal to their target audience of the lowest common dominator. Most Americans are not amused. But this shit actually gains mainstream traction on the right.

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A few years ago, the conservative rage was that there is a "War on Christmas". This cheap populism argues that none other than Christmas is being debased by a bunch of liberal universalism. For instance, did you know so many department stores were so cruel as to wish customers 'Seasons Greetings' or 'Happy Holidays' instead of a 'Merry Fucking Christmas'. And none other than the U.S. Postal Service was a part of this conspiracy to undermine the sanctity Christmas. Even Christmas trees were now referred to as Holiday trees! And, of course, the trees will only stand tall if they are called by their proper names so it really matter! Fox News devoted endless hours to this charade (one of their broadcasters even wrote a book on it) arguing that notwithstanding the endless mall decor and Christmas music on elevators, and the fact that the Christian holiday is the only federally recognize religious celebration in a nation espousing separation of church and state, Christmas was actually being marginalized. And the U.S. House of Representatives, Congress' lower house as it were (and lower in every sense!), actually passed a resolution demanding that this awful war cease on the American people. And that's why you should not vote for liberals.

That was then, the new threat is "Shari'a". Now this sounds more nefarious because it involves those camel jockeys knowns as "Mooooosluuuuummmmmsss". It comes from the Middle East, so you know it's bad! Conservative zealots are arguing that Islamic law (which they know nothing about) is a threat to America. Even though the only people taking about Shari'a are not actual Muslims, but conservative bigots, apparently there is some conspiracy to impose stoning and beheading on the American people. And, for the record, Shari'a is not stoning and beheading but a higher ideal of God's law. Only Islamophobes nitpick some obscure and admittedly fanatical aspects which most Muslims never or ever have paid attention to (in the several hundreds years of Ottoman rule, stoning was only prescribed twice). Never mind that most Muslim countries do not practice such variances in Islamic law and 99.9% of American Muslims do not even think about Shari'a, conservatives are still claiming that Shari'a is the next big threat. Consider the logic, so called, of these people: Muslims make up less than 2% of the general population and even many of these conservatives would argue that only a tiny minority (albeit their minority estimate is still too generous) are fundamentalists, and yet this .1% of a 2% population is somehow going to be able to upend over 200 years of American constitutional law and the judiciary. None other than former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has argued that Shari'a is such a threat it necessities a law banning its application. And this man is considered an intellectual amongst the American Right. This is beyond stupid. The 'War on Christmas' was stupid worthy only of comic relief, but this is a dangerous stupid which plays on ignorant fears and has already poisoned relations between American Muslims and their neighbors. It casts a shadow of suspicion on innocent people and presents then as a fifth-column to be feared. We have seen the dangerous of McCarthyism.

Those individuals who engage in this rhetoric, out of ignorance or malice, do the biggest disservice to American values.