Transcend Christmas: Get The Guns Off The Streets, The Paranoia Out Of Our Minds, And Put "Happy Holidays" In Our Hearts!

A re-post of one of last year's articles might have been as appropriate for this Christmas article, but too many Americans need to have things current, up-to-date ... and in-your-face. Last year there was a series called Transcending Christmas and the first part ,Transcending Christmas: Will The Christian Right Kill The Christmas Spirit? The Christmas Truce of 1914 Shows Why. pointed out that during the Christmas Truce of 1914, men actually laid down their guns, walked across enemy lines and allowed peace to reign for one day during the most devastating war man had ever seen.

When those men laid down their guns, however, what they were actually setting aside was their fear, their paranoia that they would be killed by their fellow man.




The Real Reason Behind The Sandy Hook Slaughter?

One of the easiest emotions to pass on to a son or daughter is ... fear: fear of everything and everyone. Sometimes overprotective parents can relay fear, and overprotective parents who are themselves fearful may be double doses of paranoia. Newtown's Nancy Lanza was fearful of her former husband, of Adam's school and even of Adam himself. And while she may have had an "interest" in guns, the presence of an assault rifle indicates the possibility of a survivalist mentality. She even tutored Adam in use of the assault rifle, triggering a paranoia that would eventually be out of control. The possibility that Adam would use the gun for lethal purposes was, in Nancy's mind, a risk she had to take to protect herself from the outside world's intent on doing her and her son harm.

     "Nancy Lanza, the mother of the Sandy Hook shooter, was in the process of having her son committed to a psychiatric facility when he went on the mass shooting spree,a lifelong family acquaintance told Fox News.
A senior law enforcement official also confirmed that 20-year-old Lanza's anger over his mother's plan is being investigated as a possible motive for the Newtown shooting."

Fear. Fear and anger. The two can be mutually inclusive. 

Paranoia Begetting Paranoia

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre

 ... Earlier this week, WorldNetDaily columnist and regular Fox News guest Erik Rush tweeted a video arguing that President Obama orchestrated the Sandy Hook and Aurora, Colorado shootings in order to cover-up a massive government scandal, forcibly disarm Americans, put people in concentration camps and start a civil war.

Driving The Second Amendment ... Into The Ground

Fear of England and fear of any totalitarian government like England's were certainly at the heart of the Constitution's Second Amendment. The common use of firearms (for hunting as well as protection) inculcated responsibility, however, with firearms that were nowhere near as deadly (or dependable) as a today's semi-automatic rifle. The vision of one man mowing down dozens of people within minutes could not have entered into the minds of the Founding Fathers. To be sure, frontiersmen had occasional run-ins with Indians, but the Founding Fathers were not concerned with them and any form of domestic terrorism was not in their nomenclature.

To put it simply: Patriot Movement and survivalist zealots armed with AK-47s and assault rifles were not what the Founding Fathers envisioned and they would have been ashamed that their own fears could reach such levels.

Wars and Enemies Everywhere

From foreign wars to the supposed "War on Christmas", the American psyche has been imbued with an "us vs them" mentality. Military terminology even invades our religious makeup (Cindy "Japan-is-shaped-like-a-dragon" Jacobs' organization is named Generals International - a point which seems to have no relevance whatsoever other than to instill a military air). The ability to stop paranoia seems, at times, futile: like the above insipid conspiracy theory, paranoia seems inevitable after a tragedy such as Sandy Hook. Calls for more guns and for greater school security with more guns (e.g. concealed weapons by teachers and administrators) are on the rise. Instances of children carrying guns to school are commonplace. Instead of being tamped down, paranoia is on the rise. 

One of the reasons for the rise in paranoia is the false notion that Christians are being persecuted in this country. In a country where the smallest hamlets have three church spires, the idea of persecution seems ludicrous, but for decades, "social conservatives" (the Christian Right's preferred label) have fostered an "us vs them" ideology that has not been seen since the days of the Roman Empire. For example, what is the "War On Christmas," except an attempt to take back the Christmas Spirit and brand it exclusively for Christians. 

What the Christian Right has never realized is that the Christmas Spirit itself transcended the holiday of Christmas long ago and any attempt to contain it, to make it exclusively Christian is futile. Instead of bemoaning the fate of Christmas, we should all be alarmed at the lack of Christmas Spirit brought on by our national paranoia. After all, the Christmas Spirit of "Peace On Earth Good Will Towards Men" depends upon something conspicuously pushed aside by our all-consuming paranoia: belief in your fellow man.

Was The Response To Sandy Hook The Final Chapter For The Christmas Spirit?


No. But dwelling on the lack of Spirit does little to propel the Spirit forward and grow, as it should, exponentially. What encourages and nurtures the Spirit is a combination of endless and all-inclusive hope, belief in your fellow man, determination and compassion. Endless. All-inclusive. The Spirit should be meted out to everyone and everything on earth ...forever.


There should be no Final Chapter.

So it is with the Spirit of Christmas that I bid everyone:

Terry Jones Update: The Latest Video Proves That Righteous Arrogance Kills People and Breeds Stupid Pastors

The last words: "This man is insane!"

A Methodist Minister, a Muslim Imam and a Fred Phelps Impersonator walk into a bar...

OK, I'm straining to be light about the whole thing, but the video of Terry Jones going toe-to-toe with Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini and Rev. Ed Rowe - Pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Detroit would be hysterically funny if peace and safety didn't hinge on it. All the talking points are there, but Jones' insistence that his actions are not harmful and that they have a point hold no correlation to those points.

SPECIAL NOTE: You may well be reading this after Jones' attempt to protest, but to get a good look at simple reasoning being thrown at someone like Jones, you really must watch the video. The idiom "Pearls Before Swine" will surely pop into your head. If you have any problems viewing it, go HERE to the site. And, yes, it's that important. 

Comic Update: As if in some old sitcom (discontinued after 4 episodes), this happened to Jones after the interview:

Controversial Pastor Terry Jones made a name for himself after burning a Koran to protest radical Islam.  On Thursday, Jones fired bullet into the floorboard of his car.

Southfield Police say the gun accidentally discharged.  No one was hurt.  No Charges were filed.  Police gave the gun back to Jones and sent him on his way.

Jones was born 90 years too late: he could have been a star in Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops comedies.

Where was I? Ah, yes, the talking points: Jones swatted them off like flies, not knowing that he looked totally cold and callous throughout the entire discussion. He was introduced as "the most controversial man in America - maybe the most controversial man in the world!" and that may have set his ego flying. He definitely studied under Fred Phelps. 


He spoke in even tones from a scowl-covered face how he had been "around the world" and spent 30 years as a "missionary " in Europe, omitting the fact that his last "sect" in Europe (Germany) had ousted him with the help of the German government. Evidently the 800-member church could not stand his dictatorial ways. When asked pointedly "What are you trying to prove?" he said it was to "raise awareness" about growing "radical" Islam, Jihad and Sharia law. 


He also compared himself to Rev. Martin Luther King. 


In reference to his burning the Quran: "The Quran is a book, I do not care how holy it is. It is not flesh and blood." Others chimed in that Jones had "blood on his hands" in knowing that burning the sacred scripture of Islam would cause violence. 


"Absolutely not." He reasoned that what people did 7,000 miles away was not related to the burning because radical Muslims always react violently. (I almost interjected at this point: "Get yourself out of the 14th century: today, one word - in any part of the world - can set off a holocaust against any group." The image of me screaming at the computer screen, however, made me look almost as ridiculous as Jones.)


Both the Imam and Rev. Rowe were, in effect, stonewalled by stupidity. Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini's reasoning, while not flawless, was direct and to-the-point: Jones did not know anything about the Quran, Islam or even Christianity. He calmly pointed out that the Quran honors and mentions Jesus Christ numerous times and that Jones dishonored Jesus as well as Mohammad. Pastor Rowe, however, was extremely agitated: "I don’t own your vision of Christianity at all." And later: "He’s lying about Christianity, he’s lying about Martin Luther King and he’s lying about Islam." 


Working On Paranoia

It is ironic that the discussion was held on FOX News channel WJBK-2 Detroit: Rev. Rowe is definitely what can be called a "progressive" Christian, not at all in line with Christian Right leaders like Pat Robertson, James Dobson or Tony Perkins. The Imam's comment about "fringe" groups in Christianity as well as Islam would have been hotly contested. 

Towards the end of the third segment, the Imam was asked why people in America feared Islam. The Imam's answer was simple: "I think they fear Islam because of people like Pastor Terry Jones...he works on their paranoia."


Yes, he does. And this video - a spectacle of stubbornness and stupidity - proves that he will continue to do so. At the end, the viewer will cry or laugh defensively:

A Methodist Minister, a Muslim Imam and a Fred Phelps Impersonator walk into a bar...