Wishing You Meaning for the Holidays
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Tourists by the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square
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** Quotation
“What could be more fundamental to our sense of meaning and purpose than a conception of whether the strivings of the human race over long stretches of time have left us better or worse off? How, in particular, are we to make sense of modernity – of the erosion of family, tribe, tradition, and religion by the forces of individualism, cosmopolitanism, reason and science? So much depends on how we understand the legacy of this transition: whether we see our world as a nightmare of crime, terrorism, genocide, and war, or as a period that, by the standards of history, is blessed by unprecedented levels of peaceful coexistence.”
– Steven Pinker, from his 2011 book The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (https://stevenpinker.com/publications/better-angels-our-nature)
** News and Analysis
“Florida once again offered an electoral conundrum this year. Even as the state’s voters filled in the bubble for Donald Trump, they did the same for one of the policies that his opponent, Joe Biden, consistently championed on the campaign trail. They voted by more than 20 percentage points to add an amendment to the Florida Constitution raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.”
– from “Biden Should Go Big, and Then Brag About It (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/opinion/sunday/biden-economy-minimum-wage.html) ” by Bryce Covert at The New York Times
** Essay: What Christmas Means to Me
Here we are at the end of another year, well into what many of us call the holiday season.
As I’ve remarked elsewhere (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/religious-freedom.html) , when it comes to religion, I’m a bit of a mongrel, so my approach to the holidays, while imbued with many of the traditional elements associated with a good Methodist upbringing, does not hew closely to any particular set of Christian dictates.
But that’s perhaps as it should be, for Christmas, it seems to me, has always been too big a thing to be narrowly claimed by any particular religious organization.
After all, at least in my part of the world, Christmas is not a small event practiced by a few behind closed doors – no, it’s something that happens out in the public, and is shared by the entire community. * On the darkest nights of the year, lights are strung on trees and buildings, visible to all, driving back the darkness. * Warm cards and messages are exchanged with those separated from us by the miles, but still held close in our hearts. * When trees outside are bare, and the ground is cold and hard, evergreens are cut and displayed, decorated with ornaments and brightly lit. * Gifts for those most dear to us are selected, purchased, wrapped, and placed under the trees. * Those who can, travel home, leaving behind for a little while the cares of labor and commerce, to spend cherished time with those they know as family, however those familial bonds were formed. * Special foods are prepared with care and, in the coldest time of the year, when nothing grows, we have the greatest of feasts, and pour out libations, toasting our friends, family and good fortunes, celebrating the facts that we have warm homes and ample food and those to share them with. * And, this being the time of year when differences in human fortunes can be most cruel, those of us who have much share some with those who have less.
And, oh, the stories that are told. Of misers and beggars, cripples and kings, angels and elves, newborn babes and aging men, reindeer and sleighs, snow and ice, foolishness and wisdom, loneliness and union, enchantment and enlightenment. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol) . Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life) . Some of the finest tales ever told, tales for the ages.
And, of course, the songs that are sung, songs that touch on all the themes and stories I’ve described above, and more. This time of year I’m listening to my favorite holiday recordings (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/christmas-favorites-from-the-practical-utopian.html) , carefully collected and curated over the years, some of them familiar favorites, some that you may have never heard of. I’m especially drawn to songs and singers and recordings that can make these timeworn motifs feel as fresh and new and deeply felt as they deserve to be.
So many different voices, so many modes of expression, all exploring these same heights and depths, all offering answers to these same timeless questions: What is it that makes us human? What makes us shed tears, or cry out in joy? To what do we aspire? What is it that brings us rest, respite and redemption?
These are not questions asked only by those of some particular faith, nor, I think, are any of us so sure of the answers that we can turn away from an opportunity to explore them anew with our fellow humans.
And so I wish you the very best this Christmas season: the best of what we humans have to offer each other, the brightest gifts, the most piercing joy, the deepest love.
(Enjoy a series of short pieces about my favorite Christmas songs (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/christmas-favorites-from-the-practical-utopian.html) .)
– Herb Bowie, published at Practopian.org (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/what-christmas-means-to-me.html)
If you liked this piece, feel free to give it a few claps on Medium.com (https://hbowie.medium.com/christmas-for-all-96bc16f7fab3) .
** Next Steps…
Thanks for reading!
Feedback is always welcome at hbowie@practopian.org (mailto:hbowie@practopian.org) .
This post, and so much more, can always be found at Practopian.org (https://practopian.org) .
** Recent Writings You Might Have Missed
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- “Hallelujah (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/hallelujah.html) ” The history of Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” is a fascinating one. Cohen’s songs had never really been embraced by the masses, and his first recording of “Hallelujah” in the early eighties was part of an album so lacking in obvious commercial appeal that the president of CBS Records responded to it by saying: “What is this? This isn’t pop music. We’re not releasing it. This is a disaster.”
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- “The Shocking Truth About Us Liberals (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/the-shocking-truth-about-us-liberals.html) ” Consumers of right-wing media seem to have some very odd ideas about us liberals. Let me set the record straight.
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- “Cooperation, Competition and Coercion (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/cooperation-competition-and-coercion.html) ” When we look at the major societal choices facing us today, and the major political battles in front of us, I’m starting to think the primary question is not really whether we want a society that is more cooperative, vs. one that is more competitive, but rather the following: Are we ready for a society that is less coercive?
- “Can the US Become a Truly Egalitarian Society? (https://practopian.org/blog/hbowie/can-the-us-become-a-truly-egalitarian-society.html) ” As with many of us, I’ve been thinking deeply lately about the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breanna Taylor, and so many other people of color, and wondering how and why these atrocities continue to occur in my country, and what we can do to turn things around.
- “Democracy (https://practopian.org/basics/democracy.html) ” A Practopian “Basics” piece that fleshes out the following core value: “We believe in democracy, with all citizens having an equal say in defining their society’s laws, and an equal opportunity to influence their governments.”
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