Last week, the American Humanist Association announced that it would be running a new advertising campaign:
Celebrating a new kind of holiday tradition, the American Humanist Association has launched a new advertising campaign similar to the one that ran in the nation’s capital last year, which made headlines around the globe. Only this year, instead of the campaign focusing on a single location, ads will be blazoned across transit systems in five cities–including Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco–marking the first-ever nation-wide humanist holiday advertising campaign.
“No God?…No Problem!” proclaim the ads, featuring an image of several smiling, Santa hat-clad individuals. The ads will kick off in Washington, D.C. in time for Thanksgiving weekend, running inside 200 buses, fifty rail cars and on the side or tail of twenty buses. The campaign will continue with ads appearing on select buses in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco starting in early December.
Not surprisingly, Liberty Counsel doesn’t like it, calling the campaign insulting:
The American Humanist Association is waging war against Christmas, but their temper tantrum is doomed to failure. An overwhelming percentage of people in America believe in God and celebrate Christmas. Rather than advance its “Godless” agenda, the American Humanist Association has shown just how far out of step it is with reality.
…
Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, remarked: “It is the ultimate ‘grinch’ to suggest there is no God during a holiday where millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is insensitive and mean. It is wrong to belittle Jews for celebrating Hanukkah during the holiday season, and it is wrong to offend all religions during Christmas. Christmas is a time of joy and hope, not a time for hate. Why believe in God? – Because Santa is not the only one coming to town.”
So Liberty Counsel accuses the American Humanist Campaign of throwing a “temper tantrum” by placing ads … while they are threatening to sue anyone who doesn’t say “Merry Christmas”:
Liberty Counsel’s Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign is entering its seventh year. The campaign is designed to educate and, if necessary, to litigate to make sure that the Christian aspect of Christmas is not censored.
On a related note, LC issued its annual “Naughty or Nice” list [PDF] and you’ll notice that it’s list of “nice” companies is twice as long as its list of “naughty” ones – not exactly overwhelming proof that there is a liberal conspiracy afoot to destroy Christmas, now is it?
