A few weeks ago, I received a forwarded e-mail regarding what the author saw as an affront to Christmas, America, apple pie, and motherhood. (I’ve omitted the invocations of outrage over terrorist attacks, but they’re available here.)What provoked this calamity, you ask? A holiday stamp available through the United States Postal Service. The message began thusly.
No weapon-wielding postal worker will compel you to buy this stamp, which is no more a “Christmas stamp” than a Hanukkah stamp or a Kwanzaa stamp is a Christmas stamp. From another USPS press release dated September 28, 2007:
Fwd: CHRISTMAS STAMP What The Hell is The Matter with this Country??
It makes you wonder who's in charge of the postal service, doesn't it??????
CHRISTMAS STAMP
How ironic is this??!! They don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp, but don't dream of posting the ten commandments on federal property?
These knee-jerk rants, replete with ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation, and paranoid delusions, are tiresome and embarrassing—devoid of rational thought. I responded by stating as much and asking rhetorically, “Does anyone appreciate them?” Yet something compelled me to dig deeper, to discredit the message thoroughly — if only for my own satisfaction.
From a U.S. Postal Service press release dated October 25, 2007:
The Postal service produced 1.87 billion Holiday Knits stamps, 700 million Christmas stamps, 50 million Kwanzaa stamps, 50 million Hanukkah stamps and 40 million Eid stamps.
According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau Statistical Abstract, as of 2001, there were a little over 1.1 million U.S. citizens who identified themselves as Muslim or Islamic. Supposing that the Islamic American population is now 4 million (a generous estimate) and that half of those are adults, each adult inclined to buy the Eid stamp could buy a single pane of 20 stamps for $8.20.
No weapon-wielding postal worker will compel you to buy this stamp, which is no more a “Christmas stamp” than a Hanukkah stamp or a Kwanzaa stamp is a Christmas stamp. From another USPS press release dated September 28, 2007:
First issued in 2001, the stamp commemorates the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other “eid mubarak,” the phrase featured in calligraphy on the stamp, which translates as “blessed festival” or “may your religious holiday be blessed.”
Does Clete La Boe, the purported author of this bluster, possess any intellectual curiosity at all? Does he honestly suspect that some evildoer has taken command of the postal service to wear American down with the cudgel of postage stamps?
While many things threaten our freedom and safety, including big government, activist judges, and Islamic extremism, that an Islamic terrorist has become Postmaster General, or will, seems improbable. If we need to vigilant, let’s focus on genuine dangers.
