LISTEN GUYS, I GREW UP among conservatives. For all our differences politically, and philosophically, I know that for the most part you're good people.

You love your children, you believe in doing good, you work hard.

Which is why the email I received today enraged me so.

You deserve better.

But you're never going to get anything better until you stop allowing people to lie to you.

Here's the email, and a few facts about it, which should give you an idea why I am so angry on your behalf:

Fw: White House Drops Christ from Christmas This checks out on Snopes as "Verified Correct".



Amazing what "Change" we are getting with our new President. He did promise CHANGE!!!!!!!!

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Subject: White House Christmas Ornaments

The White House will celebrate "Winter Holiday" this year, not Christmas. I hope the people in this country wake up soon. Thought you might be interested in this information from the White House. This isn't a rumor; this is a fact.We have a friend at church who is a talented artist. For several years she, among many others, has painted ornaments to be hung on the various White House Christmas trees. The White House sends out an invitation to send an ornament and informs the artists of the theme for the year. She got her letter from the WH recently. It said that they would not be called Christmas trees this year. They will be called Holiday trees. And, to please not send any ornaments painted with a religious theme. She was very upset at this development and sent back a reply telling them that she painted the ornaments for Christmas trees and would not be sending any for a display that left Christ out of Christmas. Just thought you should know what the new residents in the White House plan for the future of America. If you missed his statement that "we do not consider ourselves a Christian Nation" this should confirm that he plans to take us away from our religious foundation as quickly as possible.

Having had previous experience with this kind of email, I immediately checked Snopes.com to see if it was really rated "verified correct".

It wasn't.

It was rated "False".

The White house has no such plans, and the contents of the email are lies.

In point of fact, the habit of choosing non-religious themes for Christmas ornaments was instituted by Laura Bush—probably in an attempt to be inclusive.

So why would anyone circulate such a story?

It's not hard to figure out.

It wasn't aimed at me.

I wasn't the least bit offended when Laura Bush chose non-religious themes, and I wouldn't be the least bit offended if the White House chose to call those trees "winter solstice trees," let alone "holiday trees."

It was aimed at you—the people who might find it offensive.

The writers of these conservative emails don't have a very high opinion of you.

They think you are stupid enough to get all worked up over a story like this one.

They think you are stupid enough to believe it's true.

They think you are stupid enough to believe that Snopes verified it, without even bothering to check.

They think you are stupid enough—and unethical enough—to forward it to your friends, thus vouching for the accuracy of something you never bothered to check.

They think your friends are just as stupid.

They have no respect for you at all.

They don't think you are good people.

They think you are saps they can manipulate for their own purposes. They're playing you for suckers.

And, given the introduction to the email, their purposes are pretty clear.

They're laying the groundwork for you to vote Republican in the next big election.

Which gives you a pretty good idea who "they" are.

It's really come to that.

But you aren't stupid, any more than you are bad.

You just tend to trust the person you got the email from, who trusted the person who sent it to him or her.

And, because you have been bombarded by lies like these for so long, in emails, on talk radio, and through the Fox cable channel, you have been prepared to believe them.

But don't.

No one who writes an email like this should be trusted, ever again.

No one who promulgates the kinds of lies that Limbaugh, Beck, and O'Reilly do have your best interests at heart.

You should be a little suspicious of their real motives.

You should ask yourself why they find it necessary to lie, and what their real opinion of you is.

You should be skeptical about everything else they say.

As George Bush once said, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..."

Don't trust them.

Question authority—especially in the form of an anonymous email.

At least, that's what I think today.