Upon a Midnight Clear

Liberal Street Fighter

If I could have any Christmas wish fulfilled, it would be to wake up to a world fresh and new, like a field of new-fallen snow that lay unbroken by any footprint or thaw. It is a dream, of course, and Christmas wishes are fairy stories told to children to shield them from a world that doesn’t believe in freshness, in newness, in unbroken dreams.

If I could have any Christmas wish fulfilled, it would be to not see the usual Christmas at war stories, of forced gaity mixed with jingoistic patriotism and earnest militarism, stories telling us that our “boys” are getting little pieces of home while they fight and kill in faraway lands for dishonest, warmongering politicians.

If I could have any Christmas wish fulfilled, I would love to wake up to a media where more voices, more perspectives would be heard, especially from the left. There is little or no presentation of ideas that aren’t coming from the perspective of American exceptionalism, from a position where we look at our history, good and bad, with clear eyes and honest hearts. We, a supposed Christian people who believe in “progress” and second chances, increasingly act in hateful and unjust ways toward people who don’t “belong” here, spending enormous sums to lock many people up while refusing to help our own citizens left bereft and homeless.
If I could have any Christmas wish fulfilled, I’d wake to a country that believes in charity and cooperation and openness, unlike the country I live in now, where one stumble in life, one illness or mistake or arrest or layoff can result in dissolution and hopelessness. It’s not enough for charity and help to be band-aids doled out by the rich and famous to polish their public images and to help us all to feel better about the harsh dog-eat-dog battle to the death that we actually live in, our winner-take-all bacchanal for the haves with scraps for the have-nots. There is an old saw that charity begins at home, yet we don’t or won’t express our belief in this by actually ACTING on it, through our shared public institutions. We don’t believe in public institutions anymore, only greed and separation, a system that creates more need, that fosters more hopelessness, that actually manufactures death and disease, all in the mistaken belief that there is no other way to be.

If I could have any Christmas wish fulfilled, it would be for us to cooperate and work together to find a way to foster peace, to nurture openness, to water the roots of cooperation. I would wish for a world where Christmas wishes weren’t so badly needed, where these quiet whispers of hope weren’t so painfully unfulfilled.

5 Comments

scribe on December 25, 2006 at 5:13 pm

And I would add a wish for millions more madmen and women who are courageous enough to stand firm and tall and speak truth to power for all those who cannot, and for an ever expanding venue from which to speak it, as you do so well, my friend. Thank you for all you do.

Nancy LeTourneau on December 25, 2006 at 8:34 pm

I just know that all I should say is “Ditto Madman.”

But a few of your words struck a real chord with me:

It’s not enough for charity and help to be band-aids doled out by the rich and famous to polish their public images and to help us all to feel better about the harsh dog-eat-dog battle to the death that we actually live in, our winner-take-all bacchanal for the haves with scraps for the have-nots.

Being one that spends most of my professional life asking for “charity” from the “haves”, I feel like I live a double life. We DO need their charity to do whatever bandaiding work we can get done with it. And I truly am grateful when people are generous.

And yet… I also get angry that we have to beg and plead for the mostly meager scaps that do only provide bandaids for people who’s lives have been trashed by all the craziness that is our culture.

I guess life is full of things that are complex and double-edged swords. This is definitely one that I live with every day. Thanks for a moment to rant about it.

Madman in the Marketplace on December 25, 2006 at 9:19 pm

Paul Krugman speaks a little about how messed up it is that we don’t invest in our own people here through government programs.

It’s the season for charitable giving. And far too many Americans, particularly children, need that charity.

Scenes of a devastated New Orleans reminded us that many of our fellow citizens remain poor, four decades after L.B.J. declared war on poverty. But I’m not sure whether people understand how little progress we’ve made. In 1969, fewer than one in every seven American children lived below the poverty line. Last year, although the country was far wealthier, more than one in every six American children were poor.

And there’s no excuse for our lack of progress. Just look at what the British government has accomplished over the last decade.

Although Tony Blair has been President Bush’s obedient manservant when it comes to Iraq, Mr. Blair’s domestic policies are nothing like Mr. Bush’s. Where Mr. Bush has sought to privatize the social safety net, Mr. Blair’s Labor government has defended and strengthened it. Where Mr. Bush and his allies accuse anyone who mentions income distribution of “class warfare,” the Blair government has made a major effort to reverse the surge in inequality and poverty that took place during the Thatcher years.

And Britain’s poverty rate, if measured American-style — that is, in terms of a fixed poverty line, not a moving target that rises as the nation grows richer — has been cut in half since Labor came to power in 1997.

[…]

And don’t forget that Britain’s universal health care system ensures that no one has to fear going without medical care or being bankrupted by doctors’ bills.

The Blair government hasn’t achieved all its domestic goals. Income inequality has been stabilized but not substantially reduced: as in America, the richest 1 percent have pulled away from everyone else, though not to the same extent. The decline in child poverty, though impressive, has fallen short of the government’s ambitious goals. And the government’s policies don’t seem to have helped a persistent underclass of the very poor.

But there’s no denying that the Blair government has done a lot for Britain’s have-nots. Modern Britain isn’t paradise on earth, but the Blair government has ensured that substantially fewer people are living in economic hell. Providing a strong social safety net requires a higher overall rate of taxation than Americans are accustomed to, but Britain’s tax burden hasn’t undermined the economy’s growth.

What are the lessons to be learned from across the pond?

First, government truly can be a force for good. Decades of propaganda have conditioned many Americans to assume that government is always incompetent — and the current administration has done its best to turn that into a self-fulfilling prophecy. But the Blair years have shown that a government that seriously tries to reduce poverty can achieve a lot.

Second, it really helps to have politicians who are serious about governing, rather than devoting themselves entirely to amassing power and rewarding cronies.

boran2 on December 26, 2006 at 9:30 am

Agreed. Every day of the year.

chocolate ink on December 27, 2006 at 2:56 pm

I don’t remember where I read this truly depressing fact(sometime in the last week or so) but it seems that at least 60 Million Americans are living on less than 7 dollars a day.(not that you could call that living). Yet I turn around and read how Wall Street cleaned up with huge bonuses this year in the millions to hundreds of millions. The divide between the have and have-nots has turned into a huge canyon and unless we put someone in office who can turn this around we will end up a banana type republic.

scribe on December 25, 2006 at 5:13 pm

And I would add a wish for millions more madmen and women who are courageous enough to stand firm and tall and speak truth to power for all those who cannot, and for an ever expanding venue from which to speak it, as you do so well, my friend. Thank you for all you do.
Nancy LeTourneau on December 25, 2006 at 8:34 pm

I just know that all I should say is “Ditto Madman.”

But a few of your words struck a real chord with me:

It’s not enough for charity and help to be band-aids doled out by the rich and famous to polish their public images and to help us all to feel better about the harsh dog-eat-dog battle to the death that we actually live in, our winner-take-all bacchanal for the haves with scraps for the have-nots.

Being one that spends most of my professional life asking for “charity” from the “haves”, I feel like I live a double life. We DO need their charity to do whatever bandaiding work we can get done with it. And I truly am grateful when people are generous.

And yet… I also get angry that we have to beg and plead for the mostly meager scaps that do only provide bandaids for people who’s lives have been trashed by all the craziness that is our culture.

I guess life is full of things that are complex and double-edged swords. This is definitely one that I live with every day. Thanks for a moment to rant about it.
- Madman in the Marketplace on December 25, 2006 at 9:19 pm
  
  Paul Krugman speaks a little about how messed up it is that we don’t invest in our own people here through government programs.
  
  It’s the season for charitable giving. And far too many Americans, particularly children, need that charity.
  
  Scenes of a devastated New Orleans reminded us that many of our fellow citizens remain poor, four decades after L.B.J. declared war on poverty. But I’m not sure whether people understand how little progress we’ve made. In 1969, fewer than one in every seven American children lived below the poverty line. Last year, although the country was far wealthier, more than one in every six American children were poor.
  
  And there’s no excuse for our lack of progress. Just look at what the British government has accomplished over the last decade.
  
  Although Tony Blair has been President Bush’s obedient manservant when it comes to Iraq, Mr. Blair’s domestic policies are nothing like Mr. Bush’s. Where Mr. Bush has sought to privatize the social safety net, Mr. Blair’s Labor government has defended and strengthened it. Where Mr. Bush and his allies accuse anyone who mentions income distribution of “class warfare,” the Blair government has made a major effort to reverse the surge in inequality and poverty that took place during the Thatcher years.
  
  And Britain’s poverty rate, if measured American-style — that is, in terms of a fixed poverty line, not a moving target that rises as the nation grows richer — has been cut in half since Labor came to power in 1997.
  
  […]
  
  And don’t forget that Britain’s universal health care system ensures that no one has to fear going without medical care or being bankrupted by doctors’ bills.
  
  The Blair government hasn’t achieved all its domestic goals. Income inequality has been stabilized but not substantially reduced: as in America, the richest 1 percent have pulled away from everyone else, though not to the same extent. The decline in child poverty, though impressive, has fallen short of the government’s ambitious goals. And the government’s policies don’t seem to have helped a persistent underclass of the very poor.
  
  But there’s no denying that the Blair government has done a lot for Britain’s have-nots. Modern Britain isn’t paradise on earth, but the Blair government has ensured that substantially fewer people are living in economic hell. Providing a strong social safety net requires a higher overall rate of taxation than Americans are accustomed to, but Britain’s tax burden hasn’t undermined the economy’s growth.
  
  What are the lessons to be learned from across the pond?
  
  First, government truly can be a force for good. Decades of propaganda have conditioned many Americans to assume that government is always incompetent — and the current administration has done its best to turn that into a self-fulfilling prophecy. But the Blair years have shown that a government that seriously tries to reduce poverty can achieve a lot.
  
  Second, it really helps to have politicians who are serious about governing, rather than devoting themselves entirely to amassing power and rewarding cronies.
boran2 on December 26, 2006 at 9:30 am

Agreed. Every day of the year.
chocolate ink on December 27, 2006 at 2:56 pm

I don’t remember where I read this truly depressing fact(sometime in the last week or so) but it seems that at least 60 Million Americans are living on less than 7 dollars a day.(not that you could call that living). Yet I turn around and read how Wall Street cleaned up with huge bonuses this year in the millions to hundreds of millions. The divide between the have and have-nots has turned into a huge canyon and unless we put someone in office who can turn this around we will end up a banana type republic.

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