The Cult of Christian Persecution

It's the goofy season, when we hear dispatches from the imaginary fronts in the "War on Christmas." The likes of Fox's John Gibson and Bill O'Reilly warn us of imminent attack on the cherished holiday of their Lord's birth. Never mind that it was an assigned day, no more the birth of Jesus than any other day. Never mind that it is a federal holiday in quite a few countries and more stores close on that day than any other. No, all they can imagine is that us crazy secular-progressives are out to destroy it.
Of course they are wrong. We don't want to destroy it. We just don't want the overt religiosity of the holiday (or any other for that matter) all over the place. We may or may not like the day, but we aren't waging a "war." Just like any other holiday, there are those who love it and those who would just as soon sit it out.
What is important to note is that the "war on Christmas" is just a symptom of a much larger concern, the perceived persecution of fundamentalist Christianity. Just like any fundamentalist or totalitarian movement, a feeling that you and those like you are "under siege" is critical to sustaining the movement. That is the essence of the problem. As long as that sentiment exists at the fringes it is relatively harmless outside of its immediate circle. I would argue that it does great damage to those within the circle, but the effects are mitigated by low numbers in most advanced societies.
Fundamentalism is fueled by despair and lack of hope. When people give up on the society and structure around them and seek to remake a real or imagined past. In the Middle East it is at least somewhat understandable. Colonialism and Imperialism centered around oil have given the "juice" to jihadism and terrorism. Mr. Bush and his ill-advised "war on terror" have made it much, much easier for the movements to find recruits.
America is different. the level of despair and discontent has to be manipulated. People are made to feel that they are under "attack" from secular forces guided by Satan, when in fact they are not. The greedy and manipulative leaders take advantage of the imagined persecutions to further their own agendas, and to line their pockets. And real events, like the 9/11 attacks, are twisted by propaganda pros to enhance the siege feeling. Rally cries emerge, and the movement grows. And in what can only be called a stroke of genius, the very rich have managed to piggyback their train to the social causes of the radical right. As long as a candidate is not pro-choice, anti-gay rights, and pushes the fear buttons right, they can get elected. And they can manipulate the country for the benefit of cronies with little fear of alienating their base.
Homosexuality is a favorite "evil." Gays are accused of pushing their "homosexual agenda" when they seek equal rights or the choice to marry. They are demonized as lecherous cretins out to recruit the innocent children into their web of immorality.
Islam is portrayed as a religion bent on converting the world to Sharia Law. It's funny, the fundamentalists in America are just as bent on making a "Christian country." The differences are only semantics. If the same conditions existed in America that exist in many other places, the radicalism here could well be just as barbaric. The enemy, as has been the case for a long time, is radical fundamentalism, whatever flag it flies under.
Creationism is mandatory. For to admit evolution is behind life on earth is impossible. It is quite possibly the veritable "straw that breaks the camel's back" that would draw question on the rest of their belief system. The building of a false reality, supported by those a person is surrounded with, is a tool that has been used many times. It rarely turns out good.