I have edited the following, just a tad. (my note)
gregfelton.com Dec.16/13 Posted Wednesday, Dec.25, 2013
First, the “Spirit of Christmas” has to go. It’s a nonsense based on a myth. Why should we pay ritualistic obeisance to pious notions of “peace on Earth” and “goodwill toward men” when countries like Zio-america, Canada, and the U.K. deliberately foment war, impoverish their own citizens, and persecute those who try to do good?
The sort of public services and entitlements that, for example, made Canada a civilized nation are being deliberately destroyed by a dictatorship that worships the law of jungle instead of the rule of law. “Goodwill toward corporations” would be more accurate but a lot less catchy.
As for the futility of “peace on Earth,” we just have to look at the Middle East.
Even though an agreement with Syria prevented an unprovoked aggression to unseat Bashar al-Assad’s government, there is no genuine peace because Congressional tea-baggers are sabotaging a long-term deal so that they can justify an attack—for Israel’s benefit.
Of course, what “peace” on Earth is supposed to be is never made clear, unless it means the peace of the grave.
How, in the absence of a meaningful mechanism to make governments and corporations accountable to the law and some standard of human decency, does it make sense to parrot the sterile mantra of sentimental self-delusion once a year?
Besides, after Christmas it’s back to business as usual, and war is good business. The empty slogans of “The Christmas Spirit” should stick in our throats, especially the throats of those neo-Puritans who are leading the march to murder.
The second reason to dispense with Christmas is consumerism.
Given that 40 per cent of all business revenue occurs during Christmas, gift-giving and personal indebtedness is more of an economic obligation than an expression of personal volition.
From the end of November until the end of Boxing Day…er, Boxing Week (shudder!) our senses are besieged, assaulted and battered by the din of the same, tedious Christmas carols and advertisers exhorting us to spend, spend, spend! This is not celebration; it’s noise pollution.
Santa Claus, which in spirit, predates Jesus by thousands of years, is the great marketing gimmick reinvented by Coca-Cola that makes this over-consumption possible. The over-manufacturing of toys and other items that would never have been bought had it not been for the institutionalized bribery of sales.
Waste, extravagance and immorality, which so bothered the 17th-century Parliamentarians, should bother everyone today. Some American wag coined the term Black Friday to mark the U.S. Thanksgiving sales orgy. Maybe Black Christmas is inevitable.
As a public religious observance, therefore, Christmas needs to be replaced by a non-moralized, non-commericalized, non-absurd celebration that doesn’t force us to believe in unreality.
The original pagan Yule festival of celebrating the return of the Sun after the shortest day of the year is reason enough for a winter-fest and small-scale gift-giving. It also doesn’t require us to lie to ourselves.
IN PLAIN SIGHT NEWS 