The award for most shameless use of religious imagery in an effort to garner political power goes to…well Barack Obama.
But the National Association of Latino Elected Officials comes in a close second with this stunt.
The Washington Post is reporting:
A poster showing Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem for a census and the birth of Jesus is raising eyebrows among some evangelicals, who consider it an inappropriate use of Christian symbolism for the headcount the government will conduct next year.
The posters, created by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), have been distributed to more than 7,000 churches in an effort to raise awareness of the census among Hispanics. Most were printed in Spanish.
The poster says “This is how Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary participated in the Census.” That alone is hilarious. I think the Holy Spirit had something to do with it as well. Believe it or not Jesus was not a direct result of the census. I know. I know. Something amazing happened without government intervention? Who’d a thunk it?
Believe me if the government were in charge of the savior’s birth it would’ve been all messed up and it would’ve taken like 2,000 years longer than it really did and he probably would’ve been born in Kenya or something and instead of actually healing people he would’ve just promised universal healthcare…or something.
And the wise men would’ve been climatologists. And creches would have endangered polar bears instead of sheep.
But the bottom quote on the poster really typifies liberal sentiments when it says “It’s time. Make yourself count.” Typical liberals. They think the only way you count is when government counts you. You know Herod did some counting as well. That didn’t work out too well, you know.
But overall this is just a ridiculous display of using religion to score political power. And make no mistake, this is about race-based political power. Isn’t it weird how liberals are always complaining about separating church and state and then they come out with something like this which shows they’re not against religious imagery. They’re just against your political power.
The ironic part here is that it was the government’s cruelty and insatiable hunger for taxes and power which forced Joseph and Mary from their homes. Hey, some things never change.
December 16, 2009 at 4:25 am
What about the ominous "Don't be afraid." Afraid of the census? That’s like someone handing you cotton candy and saying, “Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous.” Uh, thanks dude, I wasn’t thinking it was until you put the thought in my head.
Me thinks the government is yet again up to something.
December 16, 2009 at 11:11 am
This from the same group of people who thought it would be no problem casting Sonia Sotomayor as Our Lady of Guadelupe.
And "Make yourself count." As if a person's meaning and worth are determined by their participation in the census.
December 16, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Since Joseph had to go to his hometown to be counted, perhaps the illegal aliens can do the same, and take their families with them…
December 16, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I agree with LarryD
December 16, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Except the Census Bureau has absolutely nothing to do with the posters.
From the WaPo article:
""We work with people from all walks of life to get an accurate count, but we do not provide funding to partner organizations and play no role in the creation of material by private community groups," said Nick Kimball, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, reading a written statement."
December 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Ummm…?
In that silhouette, isn't the Blessed Mother already carrying the child?
Methinks that this is an image, not of the journey to Bethlehem, but of the flight into Egypt.
December 16, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Good catch, Paul.
Craig, if the statement in the WaPo article is correct then the agencies responsible for the wrongful use of the imagery should be reproached by the Census Bureau. Otherwise they are just as much in the wrong for not working to correct the situation.
Everybody is up in arms about separation of church and state, except when it suits their needs. It happens every time a political candidate goes into a church to make his pitch for his election.
December 16, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I think it's weird, but blasphemous? C'mon, people, chill…
The "don't be afraid" is most likely meant for illegal immigrants who won't want to be counted for fear of getting deported. It might also be meant for people who think the census is some sort of evil tool of Big Government. Truth is, census information if used for all sorts of stuff from scholarly articles to companies deciding where to place a branch. It's important that it be accurate.
This is just the Census Bureau's way of wishing us all a merry Christmas. It makes no sense to be angry when government ignores Christmas, and then be angry again when it acknowledges it. I know government is a [necessary] evil almost by definition, but really.
December 17, 2009 at 2:03 am
The graphics is wrong because it shows Mary with the child Jesus already. So, they're not going to Bethlehem for the census. Rather, they're leaving Bethlehem to avoid the government soldiers from killing the baby Jesus. So, the more appropriate message for this poster is saving the baby Jesus by not supporting the healthcare proposal that includes abortion funding.