Ho, Ho, Fucking Ho!
I have come to realise that I am a bit of an Ebeneezer Scrooge this year.
I am sure there are a number of factors and if you have been following the trains of thought here on NNM you will know exactly what I am talking about.
One I haven't mentioned though is that I have just finished reading Sam Harris' vitriolic work, The End Of Faith. the reasoning is pretty simple: you can't justify believing in something just because it is convenient or feels good to do so. Religious fundamentalists and the moderates and liberals who allow them to thrive are set to destroy our world because of their misguided faith. Now there's a cure for any religious feeling whatsoever.
Harris got me to thinking. Seeing as I don't believe in God, Yahweh, or Allah (so stone me) why should I persist in this deluded celebration of the Christian ethos. Call it whatever you want - family gathering, celebration of love, blah, blah, blah - it is still perpetuated as the birthday of S.B.L. Jesus.
Maybe it will give me a chance to debate with my religious relatives.
Actually, xmas is looking up.
The pic above has been ripped unceremoniously from Harris' site. It is a promotion of his new "pamphlet", Letter To A Christian Nation, which is just like The End Of Faith only shorter.
posted by walypala @ 1:19 pm
5 Comments:
I went through a four or five year period of boycotting Christmas entirely in my idealistic twenties. I didn't give presents and I gacve back those I received - or tied to - the gesture made my grandmother cry... But yeah, it's a religious, hetero and capitalistic festival - why celebrate it at all?
Yeah!
It is just scary that saying that makes you sound like the Anti-Christ.
Of course that would rely on you believing a Christ that could be Anti-ed.
Isn't it strange that not following such a tradition is one of the hallmarks of a bitter twisted person. I don't feel that bitter or twisted. (Well maybe a little.)
Christmas is Santa
Santa is Coke
And Coke, by golly, is it!
So back in the '30s when I was buzzing off my head on a drink which "relieves fatigue", hell I didn't just believe in Jesus, I was convinced I was the man himself.
Now I drink water, and Christmas is just irritating.
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html
I think we can/should celebrate the end of another year - and just the cool fact of being alive - without necessarily calling it "Christmas".
I think the vocabulary of 'end of the year celebratory season' needs to be broadened to something better than the twee "happy holidays" of north american influence.
What do you think?
I don't think there is really any way to extricate the "holiday season" from its religious psuedo-origins.
I think they should rename it "bbq season".
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