In the classic holiday film A Christmas Story, actor Darren McGavin delights audiences as Mr. Parker (or “The Old Man”). In between fighting the furnace and complaining about the neighbors’ smelly hound dogs, The Old Man wins “a major award” in a contest.
But what arrives in a box labeled with what he reads as “fra-ge-lay” (“it must be Italian”) is a tacky lamp that features a stand designed to look like a woman’s leg. It’s ugly and hardly a prize to covet. Yet, The Old Man is too proud of his win to see the obvious ridiculousness of lighting up the leg for everyone on the block to see. It remains a battle in the family until his wife “accidentally” destroys it while cleaning, leading him to bury it in the backyard.
Even though The Old Man didn’t see it, the “major award” was so tacky it should have illuminated the fraud of the contest. Similarly, there are many products today that should help us see the absurdity of our own religious-political moment. Gifts intended to excite those espousing Christian Nationalism are often so silly and even sacrilegious that they should undermine the very ideology that created them. Alas, people sell them because others are willing to part with their money. ‘Tis the season for crass commercialization.
In this issue of A Public Witness, I introduce you to 10 gifts the proud “Christian Nationalist” on your list will love. But please don’t buy these unless you want to end up on the naughty list (and make the baby Jesus cry). Instead, these...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...