Merry “Almost Christmas”

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s almost Christmas and I feel a bit schizophrenic right now.

 

On the one hand, I’m feeling bereft, wounded, on edge, and angry:

 

• So many people I’ve known and loved (or their loved ones, including children) have passed away recently that I’m still mourning their loss.
• The ridiculous government shutdown by a toddler-brained tyrant over an ineffective, expensive wall
• The plummeting stock market
• The indictments of people who are allegedly traitors to the country
• The multiple investigations of Trump’s various business dealings and his alleged collusion with and ties to Russia
• northward-fleeing refugee families imprisoned on our southern border
• literally millions of black and brown brothers and sisters imprisoned for offenses that would earn my white brethren a slap on the wrists
• elections that disenfranchise citizens who have paid their debts to society by serving their prison terms
• elections that disenfranchise citizens with brown, black, yellow or red skin
• policies than marginalize citizens to the advantage of the racist white male privileged class
• … and the list goes on and on, dammit!

 

But for some strange reason, the Christmas music seems so much more alive and vibrant this year–all the same tunes–that I feel almost giddy every time I turn on the radio or hop in my vehicle to go anywhere.

 

Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of tragedy, treachery and providence that is causing me to lean toward Christmastime joy, comfort, love and hope right now.

 

Maybe it’s the fact that I’m getting older and seeing people fall away into the arms of eternity that has me cherishing every moment.

 

Maybe it’s because I’m feeling as if I’m standing in the eye of a hurricane that this moment seems surreal and set apart for contemplation before the storms rage again and heaven-only-knows what the outcome will be…

 

I’m not sure what it is, but I’m basking in the warmth and the possibility of peace on earth, good will to ALL people of good will.

 

Only people can make it happen, because people create the conflicts and divisions.

 

Peace is possible. Love is possible.

 

We just have to stop listening to those who want to divide and make us afraid of each other–the people who make their living off the strife and the wars that their paranoia and greed feed.

 

Standing armies were never intended for the United States. Our founding fathers warned against them.

 

Because when you make a hammer, your first inclination is to pound something with it–anything–to legitimize it! If there isn’t a legitimate nail around, you’ll find a stick, or a board, or a wall to beat its head against.

 

So it is with standing armies. Idleness creates itchy fingers. Greedy people capitalize on the restlessness of idle armies by searching for gain on foreign soil and demonizing the people who live there so that invading armies feel free to rape and pillage and steal natural resources.

 

Create an enemy where none existed before and it’s easier to look at, and to defend, in the light of day. The spokesmen for the military industrial complex can brand what they’re doing as “liberation ,” democratization,” or “containment” all they want, but what it really is, is rich people getting richer off other people’s riches; the dead on both sides become cannon fodder, collateral damage, incidental to the goal…

 

And The Beast goes on, and The Beast goes on, dressed in sheep’s clothing, assuring us they’re saving us from cruel “others” who are dedicated to ensuring our destruction. (While the powers-that-be here do their level best to keep us toiling on their behalf for just enough income to keep our heads barely above water.)

 

Christmas is a time to remember that it doesn’t have to be this way. The Price of Peace condemned no one. He was a social justice warrior. A teacher. He was heaven’s perfect lamb.

 

It’s time we honored his tenets and stopped treating our neighbors, local and global, in ways he never did or ever would…

 

Merry Christmas.