Emily's Worldview

So I know I'm weeks behind the rest of the world on this one, but I recently saw Bill O'Reilly on Letterman, and was really struck by how contradictory the idea of the War on Christmas is with conservatism. I mean, basically, O'Reilly and crew have a handful of examples of local governments and institutions that have decided to make their holiday observations more tolerant--not allowing a public nativity scene in Texas, changing the words to Silent Night in Kansas. But local communities have the freedom to observe holidays how they want, and it's conservatives who traditionally support their autonomy.

Moreover, if conservatives want to find a conspiracy that is undermining our (supposedly universal, supposedly stable) "culture of Christmas", they could look to the major corporations which have changed the season, the decorations, the meaning of Christmas from a religious holiday to a consumerist one. But major retailers are not targets for conservative ire; local school boards are. Sigh.