When Democrats get done impeaching Donald Trump, maybe they’ll move on to Neil Gorsuch. After all, the Supreme Court justice probably met their definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors” just by saying “Merry Christmas!” Judging by the hysterical reaction to his transcript this week, it won’t be long until the subpoenas start flowing. How dare a public official invoke the real reason schools, governments, and businesses close their doors on December 25. Doesn’t he know it’s supposed to be a merry non-religious specific day off in winter?
Of all the things that people could be irate about, a Christmas greeting never crossed Neil Gorsuch’s mind. But I guess it wouldn’t be winter without a few liberal snowflakes. When the justice dropped by Fox News to talk about his new release, A Republic, If You Can Keep It, he only made it 15 seconds into his interview before managing to prove the book’s point. The freedoms he talks about came under attack almost the instant he wished host Ainsley Earhardt “Merry Christmas!” “I love that you say that!” she responded, hinting at how political correctness has made an ordinary greeting taboo.
The interview ended, but the controversy on social media had just begun. Irate leftists were foaming at their keyboards, insisting that Gorsuch was somehow “furthering the GOP narrative.” Since when did a holiday that 95 percent of Americans observe become Republican? Jesus didn’t come to earth to save one party. He came to save everyone who believes.
Still, Playboy writer and BBC commentator Amee Vanderpool fumed, “Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch just appeared on Fox and Friends this morning, making a point to parrot the ‘Merry Christmas’ talking point of the GOP… [W]hat else is he willing to do?” she seethes, like mentioning Christmas is on par with espionage. Other smart-alecky critics piled on, accusing Gorsuch’s holiday hello of somehow “validating the ‘War on Christmas’ conspiracy.” “Gorsuch appeared to dive into the narrative about an alleged ‘War on Christmas,'” Salon argues, “when he pointedly smiled and wished Earhardt a “Merry Christmas” at the top of the segment on the president’s favorite morning show.”
If anyone’s validating the War on Christmas, it’s the people waging it! A congenial greeting wouldn’t be headline news if the Left weren’t triggered by the subtlest reference to faith. Because in the end, this isn’t a war over Christmas. It’s a war over Christ. Every time the nine letters of Christmas are used, people come face to face with the first six that secularists are trying to drive out. So while liberals say the holiday hubbub is a silly little controversy invented by hypersensitive Christians, they know as well as we do: it’s the epitome of the fight for faith in America. If it weren’t, people like Amee Vanderpool wouldn’t be sitting at their laptops losing their minds.
Unlike the Grinch who stole Christmas, they know Christmas is not about the trees and the toys. It’s about who we are as a nation. And the Christian foundation of this country hits them square in the face every December we hang our stockings. They’re out to steal that foundation, just like they’re out to steal the freedoms it’s built on.
Donald Trump gets it. He’s been leading the free exercise parade since he moved into the office, making “protecting religious liberty” one of the biggest priorities of his term. For reasons the liberal media will never understand, his crusade to save Christmas in 2016 is a success for the same reason the real estate mogul is president: because it taps into a deep frustration that America’s common values are being mocked and marginalized.
“Something I said so much during the last two years, but I’ll say it again, as we approach the end of the year, you know we’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore,” he said at 2017’s Values Voter Summit. “They don’t use the word Christmas because it’s not politically correct. You go to department stores, and they’ll say ‘Happy New Year,’ and they’ll say other things. It’ll be red. They’ll have it painted. Well, guess what? We’re saying Merry Christmas again.”
The crowd erupted in cheers — completely baffling the media. Like other liberals, they couldn’t understand why the issue resonated so much with Americans. Other reporters almost mocked the line, latching on to it as another silly soundbite on an issue they consider so trivial. Maybe they didn’t notice how stifled Christians were under Barack Obama’s government — how everything they said or wore or posted was scrutinized (or worse, punished). After two terms of the most hostile administration to faith the country has ever seen, I guarantee no one takes the expression — “Merry Christmas” — for granted. Least of all, under one term of this president, the American Left. To them, to us, and to everyone in between, the meaning is no longer lost. This isn’t just about putting Christ in a day. It’s about putting faith in American life. Something this administration has welcomed back in with gusto.
Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach 