Kristof challenges O'Reilly to visit Darfur with him

12/17/2005 @ 5:04 pm
Filed by RAW STORY


In Sunday's New York Times, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof challenges Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly to take a trip to Darfur with him to see "a real war against Christmas values," RAW STORY has learned.

Kristof offers "prayers" that O'Reilly and "other money-changers in the temple" will realize that the spirit of Christmas is about helping the needy and that fighting against genocide is a more worthy cause than "hectoring people to say 'Merry Christmas,' rather than 'Happy Holidays.'"

Excerpts from Nicholas D. Kristof's "A Challenge for Bill O'Reilly" follow:

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After I suggested in last Sunday's column that a better way to honor the season might be to stand up to genocide in Darfur (a calamity that O'Reilly has ignored), O'Reilly denounced me on his show as a "left-wing ideologue." Bless you, Mr. O'Reilly, and Merry Christmas to you, too!

Later in the show, O'Reilly described us print journalists in general as "a bunch of vicious SOBs." Bless you again, Mr. O'Reilly; I'll pray harder for the Christmas spirit to soften your pugnacious soul.

....

So I have a challenge for you, Mr. O'Reilly: If you really want to defend traditional values, then come with me on a trip to Darfur. I'll introduce you to mothers who have had their babies clubbed to death in front of them, to teenage girls who have been gang-raped and then mutilated -- and to the government-armed thugs who do these things.

You'll have to leave your studio, Bill. You'll encounter pure evil. If you're like me, you'll be scared. If you try to bully some of the goons in Darfur, they'll just hack your head off. But you'll also meet some genuine conservative Christians -- aid workers who live the Gospel instead of sputtering about it -- and you'll finally be using your talents for an important cause.