Why Would Progressives Make "War" on Christmas? It is a Celebration of Progressive Values

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and other right wing "culture warriors" have made something of a holiday tradition out of charges that Progressives have declared "War on Christmas". This, of course, is absurd. While it is true that the recession will make many Christmas stockings emptier this year, there is no evidence whatsoever that the celebration of Christmas is losing its position at the center of American tradition and culture.

But more fundamentally, why would Progressives want to make war on Christmas? At its root, after all, Christmas is a massive celebration of progressive values -- and a rejection of the law of the jungle selfishness, the tribalism and radical individualism that lie at the heart of right wing ideology.

Christmas celebrates the coming of the "Prince of Peace" -- a man who declared that the cornerstone of ethical behavior was to "love thy neighbor as thyself." Christmas is about a value system that is the mirror opposite of the "survival of the fittest". It stands in stark contrast to the view that if everyone tries to maximize their own self interest the "invisible hand" will always mold our selfishness into the "public good". And of course this Christmas we have the collapse of Wall Street to bear witness anew that sometimes the "invisible hand" is a fist.

In many ways, you could say that Christmas celebrates the historic emergence of a radically new set of progressive values that are arguably the most precious evolutionary advance in human history -- values that are critical to the long term survival and success of humanity. Early Christianity wasn't the only manifestation of the emergence of these values, but it certainly was one of the most important.

Not only did Jesus make the claim that one should "love they neighbor as thyself", he made it clear what he meant by "neighbor". In his parable of the "Good Samaritan" he was unequivocal: everyone is your neighbor. The central goal of ethical behavior should be assuring that all human beings flourish -- that you should seek to satisfy the same basic self-interests and needs for all human beings that you would wish to see fulfilled for yourself.

That is the central premise of the progressive ethical system. But the view that all people are our "neighbors" is a relatively new development in human social evolution. For millions of years, the answer to the question "who is my neighbor?" certainly was not "everyone". For bands of hunter-gatherers, or tribes of later human societies, the answer was "another member of our kinship group or band -- or another member of our tribe."

Jared Diamond's study of human development, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, points out that the first question for a typical member of one band of hunter-gatherers, when he encountered members of another band, was why he should not kill them on the spot.

The universality of the ethical demand to "love thy neighbor as thyself" has only begun to emerged over the last several thousand years of our approximately seven million years of evolutionary history.

And its emergence has come none-to-soon.

In his book Lonely Planets, Planetary scientist David Grinspoon explores the question of extraterrestrial life -- both basic biological life and intelligent sentient life.

Toward the end of his book, Grinspoon speculates on the chances of survival for intelligent life in the universe. He argues that every civilization of intelligent creatures must pass through a gauntlet that tests whether the values and political structures of the society are capable of keeping pace with the exponentially increasing power of the society's technology. If its values and political structures can keep pace with technological change, the society may pass into a phase of enormous freedom and possibility. If it does not, the power of its own technology will destroy it. Perhaps, he postulates, civilizations are like seahorses. Many are born, but only a few survive.

For the first time, a little more than half a century ago, human society entered that gauntlet. The autocatalytic nature of technological growth reached a point of takeoff that for the first time gave us the power to destroy ourselves and all life on our tiny, fragile planet. From that moment on, the race began.

Each Christmas we celebrate the historic emergence of the progressive values that will allow us to make it through that gauntlet. Will those progressive values predominate? Or will we allow the ancient habits of tribalism, dog eat dog individualism, and inequality to destroy us?

The next several generations of humans will decide how that race turns out. They won't simply observe it, or describe it; they will decide it. Whatever the future holds will be a result of human decision for which we are all responsible.

We will decide if we pass through that gauntlet or -- like our cousins the Neanderthals -- become evolutionary dead ends. We will decide if humanity passes into a new era of possibility and freedom -- or the human story simply ends.

That's why the Christmas spirit is about a whole lot more than being nice to the neighbors down the street.

Let us all hope that future generations will look back on the 2008 holiday season and recall that it fell at the beginning of a time when "peace on earth, good will to men (and women)" came to truly define the values of a new progressive era.

Robert Creamer is a long time political organizer and strategist, and author of the recent book "Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win," available on Amazon.com.

Comments

[flipbiscut24]

Christians are being set up to take a fall.

[tbone99]

you write " Christmas is about a value system that is the mirror opposite of the "survival of the fittest". It stands in stark contrast to the view that if everyone tries to maximize their own self interest the "invisible hand" will always mold our selfishness into the "public good".

But isn't it Christians who have used that invisible hand to promote slavery and whte supremacy, crush native people's, steal land, wage crusades and damn people who are not like them?

In other words to become the "fittest" in order to ensure their survival above all others.

[RTIII]

The turn of phraise, " the tribalism and radical individualism" strikes me as oxymoronic. I get the point, but there has to be a better way to describe the phenomenon. Aren't individualism and tribalism mutually exclusive? If not, why not? Something's missing, or at least very awkward about this pair of concepts used together...
.

[Madmac]

Because of all the commercialism, fake "war's" of it and the like, this will be the last year I celebrate Christmas. As a Christain this is a very hard thing to say but I've been faking Christmas for a long time and it has finally come to the surface. I've already started to try to figure out what I'm going to do next year with my winter break. Any suggestions as to where to celebrate my winter break next year? I'm open to suggestions

[tbone99]

As a person who has not celebrated Christmas for years I suggest you leave the country as the whole culture is saturated with the crass commercial Christmas cheer ( masking trmendous borrowing, depression and exhaustion) and people do not even try and mask their incredulity that you are not partaking in it. You are pretty much treated as the devil in disguise... with a kind f horror.

At least if you encounter Christmas in another country it is much easier to view from the lens of an outsider as the quaint and curious superstion practiced by the natives that it is.And of course they tolerate you too as an outsider who wouldn't understand in a way that an American cannot.

[llisa]

There is no war on Christmas. There are only those who are claiming a war on Christmas so they can get all bombastic and indignant and pretend liberals are destroying Christianity. It is really getting old.

[tbone99]

Youre right -no war on Christmas, instead a war by Christians

...on gays, muslims, Iraq, Palestinans, and anyone who dares suggest fostering compassion instead of greed as a government policy.

[rich misty]

Actually, Republicans are not only destroying Christmas, they are bringing down the entire Christian religion.

[AliMB]

Interesting article. However, I find it a bit strange to view Christianity and its respective principles thru a progressive political prism. Common with many political ideology or ethical philosophy, defining what makes progressivism distinct from other humanist-based thinking is not offered e.g. reading Mr. Creamer"s ideas on progressivism and some of the comments its adherents post lacks consistency. Certain Christian concepts that Mr. Creamer claims as progressive i.e. love thy neighbor and good Samaritans I would argue are in fact cosmopolitanism. A good modern day explanation of this concept can be found in Appiah"s Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (he"s also a former professor of mine!). It appears that cosmopolitanism is a requirement for progressivism, but not necessarily vice versa. Intellectuals of conservativism and libertarianism would argue that there ideas incorporate cosmopolitanism as well. Arguing that Christian values are really progressive values reminds me of the liberation theologians who combined Marxist teachings with certain catholic values, such as helping the poor. It was roundly rejected by the Vatican because it politicized the life of Jesus and offered alternate interpretations of certain biblical passages in order to give weight to leftist political movements. Maybe Mr. Creamer is right that the meaning of Christmas is really a progressive message, but he could also find himself disappointed like liberation theologians at the failure of this message to help usher in a new progressive era. After all, Christmas values are not necessarily mutually exclusive to other political viewpoints.

[negogato]

BIll O'Reilly is making war on the holidays.
And war those Christians who think it is wrong to be celebrating the birth of our savior Jesus Christ with big ticket items. Its blah for his gig.
If he was ranting about war on Christians or war on any other religion under actual attack in the world - that would be commendable.
Wanting Americans to get hot under the collar about how a commercialized religious holiday is spoken about is just silly.

[Bitsko]

Besides, when do we working class progressives have the time and money to wage war on anything?

[TomFox]

Excellent points all:

This year we gave our adult children and their significant others gift cards so that could spend the money anyway that works for them. For our parents and friends we donated chickens, goats, and lamas through Oxfam.

There is so much concern about whether retailers will make it through the Christmas season. I say nothing beats Christmas like donating to various causes. Next year, we may even by pass the gift cards and donate even more to Oxfam.

It was the first time we had ever done anything like that and today we had the kids over to celebrate the day with us and it was wonderful. No, and I mean NO stressing about gifts. Just the sheer joy of enjoying our adult children.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all

[TrooAmerican]

See, thats the problem. Its not the core meaning of Christmas and its moral decency it brings that progressives battle, its the hype and perversion of the true meaning that Pervades Christian right wing theology and ideology that everyone knows is couched in hypocrisy and indecency, purely focused ..again..on corporate profits and manipulation/propaganda employed by the corporate powers on Americans and anyone else they can push addiction to material gain on that they can.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

[minimalist syntax]

I think you should word it: "right wing Christian theology" as opposed to "Christian right wing theology" as (1) not all right wingers are Christian, and (2) the majority of Christians in the world are not right wingers. That makes it clear that progressives understand that Christianity =/= right wing ideology.

[minimalist syntax]

I guess it is still unclear. Perhaps: [right wing Christian] theology?

[tbone99]

Proof on your statement that the majority of Christains in the world are not right wingers

Link, statistic ?
I would sa that the majority are , and the ones who aren't use Christianity to justify not taking on the others.Tribalism to the max.

[tbone99]

" the majority of Christians in the world are not right wingers."

any proof to that ?

[TrooAmerican]

Youre right, i usually make that clear distinction, sorry.

[Nofuzzydreams]

Love thy neighbor is not the same as provide handouts to the neighbor so he/she cannot fend for themselves. Teaching them how to fish versus giving them fish is consistent with love thy neighbor. Individualism leads to innovation keeping this country ahead of Europe and allows you to have the money to be able to live well yourself and love your neighbor who lives well as well. You have missed the point of individualism completely.

[Kalifornika]

Yes,

That is why at the sermon on the mount, Christ handed out fishing poles rather than feeding all. . .

Brilliant.

[rmreddicks]

Individualism doesn't have to equal ugliness.

[BlackWidowPilot]

"Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."

- Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus was neither a capitalist nor a Social Darwinist. He preached love and non-judgmental *compassion,* not "rugged individualism" and "capital investment."

It is you, citizen, who missed the point of what it means to be *Christian.*

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

PROTESTant

[progressivepam]

Do you have any clue how far behind Europe and Asia our country has fallen in so many ways? We have taken away teaching people how to fish... Our education is in the toilet. Our health care system is falling apart. Our infrastructure is in shambles. And it's not because of handouts. We have taken away much of the rewards for innovation, and the happiness levels in the world are much higher in countries that consider themselves social democratic countries. You're missing so many big points here.

[HoraceOvidson]

Maybe someone will wake up on Christmas morning and realize the Grinch stole Christmas long ago. And who was the "Grinch." It was us. We stole X-mas from ourselves, and deluded ourselves into thinking it was somebody else.

[rmreddicks]

Slightly off thread. But not without idea to M. Creamer's idea.

Two voices so different and so similar as they might be had to quit this day or the eve thereof.

Kitt and Pinter.

Perhaps two new voices will be born? Pinter was good! But Eartha! These two were beauty.

[alexa07]

(continued) belittlement of other cultures.