Christmas Joy

There's a lot of discontent in some circles about the way our culture does Christmas. It's too commercialized, they say, too materialistic. What they say has some merit. Giving gifts has become such a regular part of our yearly routine that we feel entitled to it or fail to notice it much. We give our shopping list of requests to our relatives, friends, and significant others, and we act surprised at the particulars of the gifts they pick out for us. It's really easy to be disillusioned with the traditions when you step back and take a look at all we do, and some go so far as to suggest removing gifts from the picture completely to get back to the heart of the holiday.

I don't think giving gifts is far from the original spirit of Christmas, though. I think back to the story of the angels who visited the shepherds and what they said.

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

— Luke 2:10-12, NIV

A bunch of country farm hands get the completely unexpected opportunity to be witnesses of a gift to the entire world. This is at the heart of the story of Christmas: God gives a gift that is unprecedented, unprovoked, and undeserved, and the only reasonable response is great joy. I can't help but think that many of the children who have not learned to take tradition for granted taste a bit of this joy. Reveling in the pure bliss of simply receiving something good for no good reason is surely an appropriate part of Christmas.

My challenge to myself and to anyone silly enough to be reading this tonight or in the morning is this: Try to forget that the advent of Christmas is certain, and receive it as a pure gift. Let it not be an entitlement, nor an obligation, nor even a yearly tradition, but rather a spontaneous outpouring of generosity and good will that can only be met with joy.

Merry Christmas!

Letter to Senators: Internet Censorship Bill

I wrote this letter and emailed it to my senators to ask for their opposition to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA).  This bill would give the Attorney General power to turn off websites suspected of copyright infringement with a simple court order, without giving the website any chance to defend itself.  If you want to read more, try this Wired article, or hit up Google News.  If you are also a supporter of Internet freedoms and you want to copy or modify my letter to send to your senator, feel free!

Dear Senator,

I’m writing to urge you to oppose the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA).  While the proponents of this bill likely say it will help to provide authors and artists with adequate returns for their work, this bill threatens something much more fundamental to our democracy: the right to free speech.  COICA would allow websites to be shut down without a chance to legally defend themselves, which could jeopardize valid fair use and will likely lead to an environment of fear in the internet instead of one of openness.

Please do not misunderstand: I am not advocating for illegal piracy.  I do think that this bill goes too far, though, and the potential for its misuse poses a grave threat to American freedoms.  Hollywood and the recording industry should find their own ways to protect their content and be competitive, they should not be allowed to make the federal government into their personal security force.  Please do not bow to the interests of these corporations and jeopardize the freedom of the internet.  Please oppose COICA.

Best Regards

Crisis Rush

If you’ve read the most recent issue of Time magazine, you may have noticed the cover article about right-wing militias.  It seems that there’s an upswing in the number of radical conservatives preparing themselves for a “Second Amendment solution” to what they see as a misguided and corrupt federal government.  One member of such a group cited his personal motto as “Life, liberty and the pursuit of anyone who threatens it.”  There are also doom-and-gloom voices coming from the left, such as this article.  While they tend to be more critical of violence, they are no less convinced that American society is on a very steep and slippery slope.  Here’s an excerpt from that article: “Resistance movements will have to look now at the long night of slavery, the decades of oppression in the Soviet Union and the curse of fascism for models.”  Though their views and methods are very different, there’s common anti-government sentiment and a common desperation in these voices.

Now it’s true that there are always radicals on every end of every possible political scale, but what’s notable is that so many of the same sentiments are being voiced by mainstream politicians and pundits, albeit in a less revolutionist tone.  Ever since it began, the Tea Party has decried the “socialist” policies of the Democrats, and this group has elected representatives in primaries and won sway over many older Republicans.  President Obama has warned his supporters time and again about the danger of a “corporate takeover of our democracy” in the wake of the Citizens United vs. FEC ruling.  This sense of urgency is definitely not restricted to the fringes, so there must be something behind it all, but what are we to make of it when it’s coming from all sides and confronts so many issues?

I posit that what we’re seeing is analogous to a gold rush, except that it’s a rush to harness that most potent source of political capital: a true crisis.  That a crisis exists can be readily verified with statistics of unemployment, foreclosure, state bankruptcies, federal debt . . . the list is quite long.  The system that’s failing is complex enough that fingers can be validly pointed in just about any direction, and so a free-for-all has ensued with everyone trying to convince the public that their opponents are the ones responsible, and they themselves are the only ones with the right direction to lead us out of this mess.  Whether their motives are pure or not, they want to harness the anger and indignation of Americans over their very real dilemmas for their agendas.

These observations lead me to two questions: What can we expect to come out of this? and How can we best respond?

As far as what we can expect, history would seem to suggest that anything is possible.  Consider (at the risk of running afoul of Godwin’s law) America and Germany in the 1930s.  That the crises of depression and war were effective political capital was evidenced by the rise of Hitler and the triple reelection of FDR.  The legacy of these men is very different though, especially on the point of human rights.  At first glance it would seem that the character and true motives of whomever wins the crisis rush is most responsible for its outcome.

There is some commonality between these two examples, though: they were able to exert extraordinary control over their governments.  Hitler made himself a dictator and legally disbanded the Weimar Republic.  Roosevelt had his famed first 100 days in office where he managed to set much of the New Deal in motion.  From Julius Caesar to Napoleon and on into modern times there is a recurring theme of leaders emerging out of crisis and effecting drastic change while commanding surprising amounts of loyalty and devotion from their followers.  Whether for good or ill, those able to harness a crisis are able to have a large impact.

This leads me to one possible answer to my second question: keep up the critical thinking.  As someone takes control and the problems start going away, it will be tempting to trust that person or group with ever more influence.  Even if we like them and their methods though, I think it’s important to hold them to account.  It’s also important to keep all of our values in mind, not just the subset that those at the top tend to focus on.  If we all keep asking tough questions and thinking for ourselves, maybe we could prevent the gains in power from solidifying or prevent a leader who turns bad from getting away with too much.

This promises to be a defining moment for our society, whether the consequences are predominantly positive or negative.  Let’s pay attention and make the most of it!