For some reason, I feel a little divorced from the Happy/Merry season. I see the lights. I see the trees. My breath floats in my face in the night. I am assaulted by the music at every turn. I have eaten too many cookies, and have sipped my share of wine (and eggnog). I have even bought a few Christmas gifts.
So why am I unseasonably unseasonable?
Maybe it's this long-running health care fiasco. People taking up sides on account of politics, not even bothering to make a coherent case anymore. People voting for hysteria with their mouths, and for the status quo, because status quo does not require vision. People standing on the side of those who put profit over lives, while other stand on the side of ... what? Compromise? Bi-partisanship? A bid for ANY bill over NO bill? All the while, sifting the dust in their empty pockets for a bit of self-respect. People demanding without heart, and waxing passionate without muscle. I do not think there is a health care plan that covers those ills.
Ah me.
Then there are the soldiers, sailors and marines deploying before Christmas. Yes, deploying anytime is not a cause to celebrate, even in those fabled "times of necessity," but before an emotional holiday like Christmas, and with so much resistance to the war? Well, it just feels like those sugarplums are still backstage looking for their dancing shoes.
Ah me.
Then there is this Christmas 2009 shopping vibe. Do we guard our wallets until we are SURE we have navigated the economic shoals? Do we shop till we drop in support of the Good Ol' American Economy? Do we take this opportunity to shift from gain to love, from Wii! to joy, from the glitz of Christmas lights to the Silent Light of the winter sky?
I don't know, so I will just say, "Ah me."
Thank GOD for the new moon and a new time to turn toward joy (to the world).
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6 comments:
So good to have you back and writing.
Here's one for you....I went shopping the other day and could not find one piece of clothing in an entire department store that was made in the USA. Is this a sad statement or what? This country never ceases to amaze me. What are we thinking? Everywhere you turn, logic has flown out the window. I concur with you on the issues you mentioned. It's time to get out s_ _ t together.
We can't afford universal health care, but we can afford to send our soldiers into the risky and expensive business of rebuilding Afghanistan? Shop til you drop, put it all on the credit cards, and make sure the bank CEO's get their bonuses. It's expensive to maintain 10 houses and 12 Hummers. They NEED that money.
Let's hope the new moon brings a change in direction, because we sure as heck could use one.
Ah, me, too...
I agree with you and Janie. I feel like Christmas is a celebration of capitalism. So, new moon, new attitude, please.
Whenever the ultimate goal is profit, there will be no vision.
Lorelei -
Funny how we declare our independence, and then tout globalization when the profits start calling. Logic and politics have always been at separate ends of the spectrum. But now (and I am sure such circumstances have occurred in the past as well) there seems to be a special brand of hysteria that is being nurture by odd forces. Scary.
Janie -
What if we took the bad war funds and turned them into healthcare and education and small business building? What if a fairy flew out of my arse and granted me a wish? We fight so hard against that which is not immediately profitable. We fight so hard against the other guy getting a leg up, unless we, too benefit. We are afraid someone will take away our slice of pie. Or that there will not be enough. And, it's labeled "socialism" when anyone says that we can share in the bounty. Guess that memo about how the riches of the world can support many more with little sacrifice ended up in the spam folder.
Mountain Mama -
I am certain that virtually EVERYONE has experienced that Christmas moment where the music or lights or a child or a neighbor brought home the TRUE meaning of Christmas. And that is so much more valuable than a Wii in terms of enriching our hearts. Then we forget when we're sweating it out in the line at Target. Of course, it is in no one's best interest to support THAT message. How ever will the economy recover if we don't prioritize shopping?
Esther -
You have the right of it! The drive to profit is disconnected from reality. Who can see over the mountain of expectations? And, who really wants us to see? There is too much profit in the blind buying the blinding.
Ah me. Red wine makes me maudlin ...
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