Falwell fighting for holy holiday
He threatens to sue, boycott groups that subvert Christmas
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/20/MERRY.TMP
Evangelical Christian pastor Jerry Falwell has a message for Americans
when it comes to celebrating Christmas this year: You're either with
us, or you're against us.
Falwell has put the power of his 24,000-member congregation behind the
"Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign," an effort led by the conservative
legal organization Liberty Counsel. The group promises to file suit
against anyone who spreads what it sees as misinformation about how
Christmas can be celebrated in schools and public spaces.
The 8,000 members of the Christian Educators Association International
will be the campaign's "eyes and ears" in the nation's public schools.
They'll be reporting to 750 Liberty Counsel lawyers who are ready to
pounce if, for example, a teacher is muzzled from leading the
third-graders in "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."
An additional 800 attorneys from another conservative legal group, the
Alliance Defense Fund, are standing by as part of a similar effort, the
Christmas Project. Its slogan: "Merry Christmas. It's OK to say it."
Fanning the Yule log of discontent against what the Liberty Counsel
calls "grinches" like the American Civil Liberties Union are
evangelical-led organizations including the 150,000-member American
Family Association. It has called for a boycott of Target stores next
weekend. The chain's crime, according to the group, is a ban on the use
of "Merry Christmas" in stores, an accusation the chain denies.
On his show last week, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly offered a
list of other retailers that he says refuse to use "Merry Christmas" in
their store advertising.
In signing on to "Friend or Foe" this month, Falwell urged the 500,000
recipients of his weekly "Falwell Confidential" e-mail to "draw a line
in the sand and resist bullying tactics of the ACLU and others who
intimidate school and government officials by spreading misinformation
about Christmas."
Standing on the other side of that sand line are religious, liberal and
secular organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, whose
national director, Abe Foxman, recently bemoaned the religious right's
efforts to "Christianize" America.
"This amped-up effort shows how these groups want to push into the
classrooms more," said Tami Holzman, assistant director of the
Anti-Defamation League's San Francisco office.
"There is no war against Christmas," said Barry Lynn of Americans
United for Separation of Church and State. "There is no jihad against
Christians. There is nothing going on around Christmas except these
groups' incessant fundraising."
How the season of ho-ho-ho evolved into "Friend or Foe" shows how the
nation's culture wars have pushed into the season of giving. Each side
wants its beliefs accurately represented around the nation's winter
hearth -- its public schools and government spaces.
And if not, it will sue.
"It's a sad day in America when you have to retain an attorney to say
'Merry Christmas,' " said Mike Johnson, an Alliance Defense Fund
attorney in Louisiana who will push the Christmas cause.
Organizers of the Christmas campaigns say many Christians feel
aggrieved by the secularization of the season. They say teachers feel
too intimidated to allow students to sing "Silent Night" in school, and
they believe cities have every right to place a nativity scene in a
public park.
Both activities are constitutionally protected, the Christian groups
say, provided that the kids also sing secular songs and the cities put
up nonreligious holiday displays as well.
Friends, according to "Friend or Foe" campaign sponsor Liberty Counsel,
"do not discriminate against Christmas." Foes are going to get a letter
from one of the pro bono lawyers reminding them that "Christmas is
constitutional," not to mention a federal holiday.
"We'll try to educate," said Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel.
"But if we can't, we'll litigate."
Or boycott. The American Family Association called Thursday for a
Thanksgiving weekend shunning of Target stores, saying the chain was
refusing to allow the phrase "Merry Christmas" on in-store promotions
and advertising.
"I don't know where they're coming from," Target spokeswoman Carolyn
Brookter replied. "We have no such policy on Christmas. You can see it
in our stores."
At one local Target, in Colma, most of the in-store advertising offers
a generic "Gatherround." One of the few advertising mentions of the
C-word is above a Christmas card rack that says, "Celebrate Christmas."
That's not good enough for American Family Association President Tim
Wildmon, who wants to see "Merry Christmas" signs displayed prominently
"if they expect Christians to come in and buy products during this
so-called season."
And he isn't worried if they offend people who aren't Christian.
"They can walk right by the sign," Wildmon said. "It's a federal
holiday. If someone is upset by that, well, they should know that they
are living in a predominantly Christian nation."
Where's Wildmon shopping next weekend? "Wal-Mart," he said.
That chain was briefly the target of a boycott called by the Catholic
Rights League after an employee described Christmas in an unflattering
way in a company e-mail. The employee has since left and the boycott is
off, though the Catholic Rights League still criticizes Wal-Mart for
tellings its employees to say, "Happy holidays."
Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman said the "Happy holidays" greeting is
"more inclusive. With 130 million customers walking through the door
and 1.3 million employees, it's safe to say there are a lot of
different faiths out there."
The ACLU and its supporters believe they're being drawn into a
make-believe war. They say they've fielded fewer holiday-season
conflicts in recent years and that everybody seems to know the rules,
except those trying to make a political point.
"People are free to worship in their homes and their houses of worship
and if they rent out a hall," said the ACLU's Jeremy Gunn, national
director of the group's Freedom of Religion and Belief program. "You
have to ask, why do they want to worship in the public schools?
"That they're doing this in the name of religion is very, very sad,"
Gunn said. "It would be one thing if they're talking about consumerism
of the season or something, but they're not."
Other groups are actively countering the Christmas campaigns.
The Anti-Defamation League said it would send letters to school
administrators nationwide on how to negotiate the "December dilemma,"
emphasizing that "schools must be careful not to cross the line between
teaching about religious holidays (which is permitted) and celebrating
religious holidays (which is not)."
The issue is a dilemma for the Anti-Defamation League, too. It
commissioned a poll last month of 800 adults, 57 percent of whom said
Christianity was under attack. Among evangelicals, the figure was 76
percent.
"There's a lot of fear out there," said Finn Laursen, a retired school
administrator who is now executive director of the Christian Educators
Association International.
Standing in the middle of the fray are school administrators like Rob
Kessler, superintendent of the 24,000-student San Ramon Valley Unified
School District.
Kessler said it's OK, for example, for a teacher to bring a menorah
into class. "But what's not OK is if a teacher would begin lighting
candles and saying prayers," he said. "Then it becomes a religious
ceremony. But, honestly, we haven't seen many instances of this in the
last few years."
The war has even spread to Bob Norris, head of the Christmas Tree
Farmers Association of New York. He lent his organization's name to the
Alliance Defense Fund's campaign because, he said, "The people who are
fighting to save this country are in favor of Christmas."
Sam Minturn, who heads the California Christmas Tree Association, said
his group hadn't taken a position on the issue. In fact, he doesn't
mind the term "holiday tree" -- a phrase that angers some "Friend or
Foe" campaigners.
"I don't care what people call them, as long as they buy them," said
Minturn, who lives in Merced County. "Go ahead and call them a weed."
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