I'm Taking a Sabbatical from Garrison Keillor

In a mid-December column in Salon.com (and syndicated in several major papers), Garrison Keillor claimed Christmas for Christians in no uncertain words. "Christmas is a Christian holiday -- if you're not in the club, then buzz off."

He had curmudgeonly words for Unitarians and Jews. "Unitarians listen to the Inner Voice and so they have no creed that they all stand up and recite in unison, and that's their perfect right, but it is wrong, wrong, wrong to rewrite 'Silent Night.' If you don't believe Jesus was God, OK, go write your own damn 'Silent Night' and leave ours alone. This is spiritual piracy and cultural elitism and we Christians have stood for it long enough. And all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write 'Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we'll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah'? No, we didn't.'"

In my estimation this poorly constructed, rambling diatribe of Mr. Keillor isn't satire. (I've reread it to discern the proverbial tongue in cheek.)

It contributes to a prevalent vein of ugly discourse of us against them. And it lacks a simple sense of history regarding the evolution of Christmas. Talk about cultural appropriation! Mr. Keillor knows better.

I honestly can't fathom his intentions in writing this mean spirited piece. It hardly reflects his big-cuddly-bear, aw-shucks persona as portrayed in the image, posted above, from his Salon.com page.

I've decided to take a sabbatical from Garrison Keillor, in the same way I've taken a sabbatical from the "nattering nabobs of negativism" that inhabit talk radio. I began yesterday, when I declined a special simulcast screening of Mr. Keillor's radio show. Before this article, I would have gone.