The War on Christmas

Bill O'Really and his puppet masters have successfully killed Christmas. So too have the owners and programmers of TV and cable.

Although I have felt the Christmas spirit to greater and lesser degrees over the years, this is the first year I could not feel it at all. Instead of playing "A Christmas Carol" or "It's a Wonderful Life" or anything else that connects a person to the greater spiritual reality we live in, we were treated to a non-stop airing of "A Christmas Story" about a kid wanting a BB gun and the dysfunctional family and society he lives in.

In years past, it seemed as if there was a general moratorium on the worldly goings-on as we turn our attention to the greater meaning of our existence during the holiday season beginning with Halloween and ending with New Year's Day. There would be a gradual build up of holiday programs with the airing of seasonal classics beginning with "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown."

Then, after Thanksgiving, there would be every manner of Christmas story and Christmas special and Christmas oriented TV series episode, but, all of them treated the subject with respect and dignity and showed how the true spirit of Christmas was about enlargening one's own spirit beyond selfishness and to see the greater wonder in the world outside our skin and the greater mystery that gives rise to us all.

As a Buddhist and a half Japanese none of this ever bothered me for they are like so many fingers pointing to that which is greater than oneself. In fact, there was in recent years a Jewish story aired on the Disney channel which I also enjoyed.

What bothers me are stories that fail to connect to any greater spirituality whether religious or secular. I especially missed getting to see all the versions of "A Christmas Carol" this year and only got to see the last half of one with Patrick Stewart. My favorite is the one with Alastair Sim but I often wonder why the one with Henry Winkler (An American Christmas Carol, 1979) is never shown. It must have cut too close to the bone for the puppet masters to let that one on the air ever again given the war against everything that came of out of Depression Era policies such as Social Security.

The one Christmas special I miss most of all is "A Charlie Brown Christmas." It gets to the very heart of what I am speaking in this post. About how commercialism has taken over everything and the true spirit of peace, fellowship, and goodwill are but vanishing memories of a bygone time.

What I see on this bright, beautiful day today is a country that has lost the war on Christmas and it is Bill O'Really and his ilk who have won by killing everything that makes Christmas not just a holiday but a true holy day. "God rest ye merry gentleman...tidings of comfort and joy." I could sure use some of that now.

Left, right, and center

In the wake of reading this post at Centrisity I finally came to understand what the difference between the left and right really is. I've read all the definitions but none of them stick in my mind as being meaningful. However, when considered from the perspective of people-centered or power-centered I am finally able to wrap my head around what the difference really is between the two parties.

As Wes Clark once said, the difference between Dems and Repubs is that Dems are people-center and Repubs are weapon systems-centered. That's a pretty straight analogy to me.

Impeaching Bush

Anyone who shies away from impeaching Bush for any reason whatsoever is guilty of committing treason.

The impeaching of Bush has NOTHING to do with Clinton or politics. It has EVERYTHING to do with defending the Constitution against domestic enemies.

The elites and those who go along with their line of crap are not worth the air they breathe. I truly wish there was a way for the elites and their followers to be brought down without having to harm the innocent along with them. But unfortunately, the only way that things can change is when the whole country goes down in catastrophic failure. Let's just hope it doesn't involve any nukes.

Why Speak of Profit? I give you benevolence and righteousness.

Mencius: 1A:1

1. Mencius went to see king Hûi of Liang.

2. The king said, 'Venerable sir, since you have not thought it far to come from such a long distance, you must have some good advice to profit my kingdom.'

3. Mencius replied, 'Why must your Majesty use that word "profit?" My advice has only to do with benevolence and righteousness.'

4. 'If your Majesty say, "What will profit my kingdom?"
the ministers will say, "What will profit our families?"
and the people will say, "What will profit me?"
In such a case, from top to bottom, everyone will try to snatch this profit from each other, and the kingdom will be endangered.

In a kingdom of ten thousand chariots, the murderer of his sovereign shall be the family of a thousand chariots. In a kingdom of a thousand chariots, the murderer of his prince shall be the family of a hundred chariots. To have a thousand in ten thousand, and a hundred in a thousand, is still a large allotment, but if righteousness be put last, and profit be put first, people will not be satisfied without snatching all for themselves.

5. 'There never has been a benevolent man who abandoned his parents. There never has been a righteous man who made his sovereign an after thought.

6. 'Let your Majesty say, "Benevolence and righteousness are what matter most." Why must you use that word -- "profit?"'

Commentary:
When the emphasis is profit, people will be selfish and greedy and only think of themselves--Scrooge. When the emphasis is benevolence and righteousness, people will be caring and generous and work for the well-being of all--Mr. Fezziwig.

We don't need an "ownership" society...

I don't have a transcript or video but I happened to catch the Nov. 30 recording of Ken Mehlman on C-SPAN tonight.

My response: We don't need an "ownership" society, we need a "give a shit" society.