The war on family Christmas

Wil Wheaton is best known for his acting (Star Trek, The Next Generation, Toy Soldiers, Stand By Me, etc.), but he’s also a respected author and one of the best and brightest apolitical bloggers. 

He pens a piece for Salon which is a rare venture into the political world - a discussion of what happens when talk radio culture intrudes into our family relationships.

While my dad continued to scream about biblical vengeance, I went into shock. Just minutes earlier, we’d stood together outside on the deck and laughed with each other as he congratulated me for a great finish I’d had the previous day at a poker tournament in Las Vegas. In fact, I’d cut my trip short, specifically so I wouldn’t miss the family Christmas.

What a difference five minutes makes. While he screamed at me, I wanted to ask, “Who are you, and what have you done with the man who raised me to be tolerant, patient, peaceful and charitable?”

Hat tip to Joe Gandelman who observes:

Read Wheaton’s piece in full. It touches on the “war on Christmas” issue. But its underlying theme is the divide between independent thinkers (in the blog world you have them on all sides) and lock-step defenders (of either party position). It’s a question of quality versus volume of and quantity in debate and how this shift has changed the way info is now processed and discussed in America — and over family dinner tables. Y no es bonita.