SUPER CHRISTIANS (F &F, HALLMARK)
Are They Tone Deaf? Are They Antisemites? Or, Do They Border On Antisemitism?
Dear Reader,
I like to think that I’m an equal opportunity axe-swinger. My concerns include, inter alia, proper behavior and adherence to truth. To my way of thinking truth primarily refers to what we learn through science, not belief - contrary to what many religions teach. We will leave this very important and fascinating topic for another day
For the past several years I tend to listen to FOX especially F &F in the morning: I switched from MSNBC and CNN: ABC was lost to me as a result of what I perceived to be Peter Jennings’ overt hate of Israel. I got tired of the lies, BS, and divisiveness that was beginning to be preached. Joe Scarborough became a real disappointment as did Rachel Maddow. Also, I became a fan of Hallmark - it, along with other programs, provides great white background noise as I engage in creative activities. Further, .Hallmark’s programming does not keep my guts twisted the way the continuous daily fare of news did/does. I need a respite from the news during the day and Hallmark, Westerns, certain other programs provide the necessary, harmless, mindless background. One just looks up to the TV and instantly knows what’s happening on the program. When driving, I am a devotee of talk radio. Around 1991 +/- I got into it with Rush about evolution and he pulled the switch on me while he kept talking. For years afterwards I did not hear him discuss evolution again. Aside from wanting to appease religious fundamentalists, his was a powerful voice on many social and political issues.
However, my wife and I noted a certain behavior on part of the F & F commentators and Hallmark that was somewhat troubling. F & F hosts never stopped commenting on their being Christians - as if the entire world was Christian and the no one else mattered. I think it’s Ainsley who continually references her Bible study group. Based on my experiences with people who went to or conducted Bible study groups, I concluded, decades ago, that these groups were excellent examples of the expression “the blind leading the blind.” I will return to Hallmark below.
One of our observations was the obvious absence of wishing their Jewish listening audience a happy Hanukkah. For example, this morning there was extensive mention of the onset of Advent tomorrow. Yet, tomorrow night is the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle and not a word of acknowledgement on the part of F & F. This lack of acknowledgement has been noted for several years. And this behavior has been noticed by us for other occasions.
But what is so special about Hanukkah that it should be recognized? One could ask the same about Advent.
There is a major difference between Jewish and Christian holidays. Christianity tends to celebrate the lives of people whereas Judaism tends to celebrate events of great significance that occurred to the Jewish people. Jews have a great tendency to celebrate freedom. In fact there are at least three well-known holidays in Judaism devoted to the celebration of freedom: PASSOVER is devoted to the celebration of political freedom: it is the world’s paradigm story; PURIM is the celebration of religious freedom and the right of people to defend themselves from those who would deny them; HANUKKAH is the celebration not just of religious and political freedom but, if necessary, the importance and need to take up arms in their defense. As to the importance of Hanukkah - as I had written elsewhere: IF NOT FOR THE HANUKKAH, THERE WOULD BE NO CHRISTMAS!
Please see my next post for comments on Hallmark.
Happy holidays to all, and a very happy secular New Year filled with peace, health and happiness.