printSet in the 1940s, “A Christmas Story” depicts a series of family vignettes through the eyes of nine-year-old Ralphie Parker, who yearns for that gift of all gifts: the Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. This was boyhood before “bang-bang you’re dead” was banned; family life prior to “One Dad Two Dads Brown Dad Blue Dads,” and Christmas without the ACLU. …
(By the way, Bob Clark, the director of this magical movie, and his son, were killed by an illegal alien. This says as much about modern-day America as does the dissolution of the prototypical family unit depicted so magnificently in “A Christmas Story.”)
I watch snippets of this gem of a film every year. I’ve written about “A Christmas Story” at least twice. Read “Once There Was ‘A Christmas Story.'”
UPDATE: BHO’S CANINE-CENTERED HOLIDAY CARD. The Canine member of the Obama family is front and center in their “holiday greeting card.” “It features an image of Bo, the Obama family dog, in front of a fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The card, which makes no direct mention of Christmas and doesn’t feature a Christmas tree, states: ‘From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season.'” (LA TImes)
Sarah Palin told Fox News that she found it “odd” that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like “family, faith and freedom.” She also said that Americans are able to appreciate “American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree.”
In his latest (and greatest) book, Patrick Buchanan captures the essence of Barack Obama as an “avatar of the cultural revolution”:
“Pro-gay rights, pro-choice, pro-amnesty, pro-affirmative action, one foot firmly planted in the Third World,” … an Afro-nationalist like Barack Hussein Obama Sr. BHO’s Christianity is the liberation theology preached by his longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. A man who believes that whites qua whites have “much to answer for.” This “race consciousness and reflexive bias” was revealed in “his reaction to the Sergeant Crowley-Professor Gates affair.”
HAVE A MERRY ONE.
Very charming movie. I grew up listening to Jean Shepherd (a great radio storyteller) on the radio … – the movie came from his stories.
I’m confused on how this particular card is problematic given White House Christmas card history:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/23/2559674/white-house-christmas-cards-signed.html
I see that the blame for this piece of Presidential narcissism goes back to Calvin Coolidge. I can’t picture Thomas Jefferson handing out Christmas cards … but that is our modern Cult of Der Fuhrer.
Whether the card is “problematic” or not, I believe, misses the point. Could it be that Mr. Obama is really trying to tell us how he views on religious holidays, especially “christian” holidays? After all according to an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Mr. Obama stumbles by saying “my Muslim faith” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw.
The url I posted didn’t seem to come through
The url came through, unfortunately, it is a poor clip, too short. I flub up a lot in conversations myself. Not knowing what the gist of the conversation is, I can’t tell just what the context is. Context is everything. HW Bush put verses on His Christmas cards but, when in Japan he worshiped at the Shinto Temple, in the Middle East he attended Muslim services. In both cases he ignored the Christians in the land. In more ways than one to be sure. I do think that a winter solstice card should recognize religion- like the “Time when the Earth Solstice and religion are joined” or something to recognize the faith of people, without specifics.
I don’t see anything wrong with the card. There’s no tree, but there’s a garland across the mantle and poinsettias on the table, which are also closely associated with Christmas. While I think Buchanan is right regarding Obama’s cultural views, I think this particular instance is blown out of proportion given the (mostly) secular nature of past presidential cards.
On a related note, Queen Elizabeth II gave a good Christmas speech on faith and family.
Here’s the YouTube link to the message. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHxbMbYgJ_o