Planned Parenthood has issued holiday cards with the message “Choice on Earth” on a blue background with snowflakes, and conservative Christian groups are up in arms. The CNN article’s tagline says they’re being accused of “anti-religious bigotry”, which is ridiculous.
I do think the cards are a teensy bit inappropriate, perhaps. But what if they’d said “Freedom on Earth” with a red-white-and-blue background? Would conservatives object? Don’t “freedom” and “choice” mean the same thing?
But my main point is, what’s all this about “Peace on Earth”? Conservatives appear to have precious little regard for this most Christian of ideals these days. “Get them before they get you” is more like it. Incoming House Majority Leader Tom Delay–who loudly proclaims his Christianity–referred to the Nobel Peace Prize as the “Nobel Appeasement Prize”. I suppose that makes Jesus the “Prince of Appeasement”.
The foreign policy a lot of conservative seem to advocate is that the US should behave in an arrogant ans selfish manner to the point that we anger even our closest allies. We can then say “they hate us” and use that as justification of even more bullying. At least this is what Ann “convert them to Christianity” Counlter seems to think.
It has been suggested that some Christians are simply flat-out opposed to peace, as indicated by this cite:
So which is it? Peace on Earth or Apocalypse Now? Admittedly, the above example is not very representative, but mainline Christian conservatives aren’t exactly “loving their enemies” and so can hardly claim ownership of the concept of “Peace on Earth” to the point where it is an appendage that has been hit with a hammer by Planned Parenthood’s silly holiday card.
I saw Fox News’ favorite demagogue, Bill O’Reilly crying and whining about this a few days ago. He even saud he was going to do a poll to see if Americans found the card offensive. I didn’t see the results of the poll but I’m sure the question was asked in a really neutral way, “Is it offensive for abortionists to defend killing babies on Christmas cards?” or something of the ilk.
I wonder if he would have been offended by a “Life on Earth” card. He said in an interview with a Planned Parenthood spokesperson that day that Jesus was anti-abortion. what an ass.
I hate to defend O’Reilly - but my memory of the interview is different (except for the whining part). I think he said he believed, based on what he knew about Jesus, that Jesus would be against abortion. And he qualified it by saying he was not a theologian (well, duh!).
Pat Ireland, on the other hand, was quite convinced that Jesus would have been pro-choice and didn’t see the slightest inappropriateness with the cards.
He said that Jesus was pro-life, and THEN retreated into the MHO cop-out. Ireland never asserted that JC was pro-choice, just that he MIGHT have been.
You’re right that she saw nothing inappropriate about the cards. Neither do I. At least it’s no worse than all of the inevitible Christmas glurge I’m going to get in my e-mail.
Actually O’Reilly ranted that most would find the card “offensive” but when the poll was run it asked if it was inappropriate. Those two words are hardly synonymous. How that guy has the nerve to call it “The No-spin Zone” is beyond me.
Guin:Christmas cards are not supposed to be about politics.
Even non-religious, non-denominational “holiday cards” like the ones described in the OP? IMHO, just using a variation of the phrase “Peace on Earth” isn’t enough to make it a “Christmas” card.
I wouldn’t want to send something like that to anyone I wasn’t sure already agreed with me, though, which is an argument for not putting political messages on any mass-mailing greeting cards.
I think the cards are inappropriate, though not necessarily offensive. Now the “Make every child a choice” baby tees they sell - those are offensive. What kind of f**ked up message does it send to your kid when you turn into a miniature abortion sandwich board?
Maybe next they can come out with some baby tees that say “Don’t let this happen to you.”
Jeff
The Pharisees were the conservatives, the Saducees the liberals. Jesus was a radical.
Just a short note from someone who thinks that there is not one person in 100 who is even remotely identifiable as consistently liberal or consistently conservative anyway, and that the labels aren’t working.
As far as the issue itself. As a former pacifist, I am deeply conflicted about the whole war thing.
As far as Planned Parenthood. This is an organization with goals I deeply object to and at the very least they should not get governement funding, which they turn around and use to lobby for more government funding. Wrong. They consistently misrepresent themselves as open to adoption and abstinence and anyone who has ever been in one of their clinics could tell you otherwise.
And the card is at the very least tacky. Let them make up a nice positive slogan that is not something designed merely as a childish provocation.
Sheesh, NRL (National Right to Life) has been cranking out ferociously antiabortion cards for years, and no one’s had a problem with it.
If you don’t like the card, don’t buy one. There’s no reason to get up in arms about this. If you ask me, this just goes to show that conservative Christian groups just can’t tolerate any dissention whatsoever.
(For the record, I’m a staunch supporter of choice on earth. Mainly because every time someone or some group has made a concerted effort to suppress choice on earth, it’s often resulted in disaster. Such as, say, the rise of the Taliban and the state of our current foreign policy, but that’s another Great Debate.)
I don’t like pro-life cards either. I remember when I worked at a grocery store, a woman who would have checks with FETUSES on them, that said, “Thou Shalt Not Kill” (and her name was Madonna). I found them crass.
Are they inappropriate?
Possibly, I tend to think that Christmas Cards aren’t the appropriate place for controversial political statements
Are the cards in and of themselves offensive?
No. Neither is producing or selling them.
Can the cards be used in an offensive way?
Yep.
Sending a card this loaded to someone who is on the other side of the issue, is publically silent on the issue, or is moderate on the issue in question is no longer about wishing them well - it’s about trying to push your opinion. And that’s offensive.