Marx hated God, and Marx’s disciples have been at war with religion for more than 100 years. In the hypersecular domain that Father Richard Neuhaus described as “the naked public square,” the left remains deeply disturbed by the survival of Christianity.
Over recent months, the Canadian Department of National Defence seemingly made a bid to disallow prayer on Remembrance Day, and a recent Human Rights Commission report called Christmas a racist observance “grounded in Canada’s history of colonialism.”
Days ago, thousands of U.S. university students marched with anti-Semitic, “Red-Green” Islamo-Marxist mobs that disrupted Christmas tree lighting ceremonies in U.S. cities.
The Campaign Against Christmas Music
Secular progressives have sought to purge Christianity from public spaces for decades, and one of their more bizarre assertions is that Christmas music is bad for our mental health.Several years ago, a British psychologist, Linda Blair, warned that listening to Christmas music could damage our psychological well-being by triggering feelings of stress. She said Christmas songs bring on thoughts of things that we feel obliged to do over the Christmas season, such as shopping for gifts or planning for a family dinner.
Christmas Promises Peace Not Trauma
It’s clear that Christian customs have become less welcome in the public square, and the left has developed a particular dislike for the celebration of Christmas.Over recent years, ordinary North Americans have experienced considerable levels of distress. But sensible people aren’t blaming their troubles on exposure to multiple replays of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
The actual source of our stress is contained in the catastrophic social and economic policies that have been introduced by misguided neo-Marxist ideologues.
For most citizens, reckless spending, porous borders, high energy costs, inflated food prices, family disintegration, homeless encampments, unprecedented levels of crime, fraudulent election procedures, corrupt politicians, racial division, failing schools, mob violence, and censorship are all considerably more disturbing than Christmas music.
For centuries, Christmas has amounted to more than just the formal observance of a theological event. Advent and the twelve days of Christmas are festive occasions that focus on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and the arrival of the Magi who recognized the Christ child by offering gifts.
Christmas festivals include feast days, family reunions, concerts, good cheer, gift-giving, and of course the enjoyment of sacred music. It’s an opportunity to share a love for God and a natural affection for fellow human beings.
Sometimes, religious customs can get lost in too many extravagant events and parties. But Christmas always serves to renew our spirit of charity and remind us of obligations to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, forgive the guilty, care for the sick, love our opponents, and do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
This year, we will celebrate Christmas in Wales and plan to take great pleasure in attending a carol service at the 1,500-year-old Newport Cathedral, whether the British Psychological Society recommends it or not.
The insightful Father Richard Neuhaus was firmly convinced that the survival of truly free societies depends almost entirely on our capacity to remain informed by the philosophy and values of Judeo-Christian traditions.
The promise of Christmas is peace and goodwill, not despair and psychological trauma.