(I promised a friend that I would run this again.)
Every year I blog about why I hate hearing about the Christmas spirit. Inevitably these posts generate a variety of emails from my readers ranging from those that politely try to explain why I am wrong to those that suggest I might engage in some sort of anatomically impossible act or better yet…die.
Well my friends I suppose that were I flexible enough I might consider the middle option. It would save a lot of time and money. Just think I wouldn’t have to engage in small talk, cuddle or try to silently sneak away. The third option isn’t quite as interesting to me as I have quite a few things to do and death is really far down the list. However, I would like to address the man who says that I am going to burn in hell because I don’t share his beliefs. Yes, I am sure about my own beliefs and I don’t need to promote them by engaging in religious terror, but thanks for playing.
The real point of this nonsense is to remind everyone that hunger, hopelessness and hurt do not magically disappear after the holiday season. I simply hate the idea of focusing our attention on giving because of the time of year. I have heard all of the arguments about why it makes sense to make the appeal now and I just don’t buy it.
But this year I want to point the spotlight at a different group as well. Let’s not focus the beam on those who are living on the streets or who are “traditionally†poor. Let’s talk about our friends and family who are struggling in silence. They are college educated, hard working members of society who have fallen upon hard times.
They are men and women who have always been productive members of society, but for one reason or another they are struggling now. They live among you. You know them. You see them on a regular basis but you probably don’t hear their stories. They are sad, heartbroken and uninterested in pity. They don’t want to be lectured about what they could or should have done. They don’t want to be judged for for their situations.
All they want is an opportunity to take care of their families. They don’t want hand outs, but a hand up and their numbers are growing. Each day they are beating their heads against stone, fighting for each inch and wondering what they must have done wrong. It may sound like hyperbole or some sort of sad story that you would see on Lifetime, but it is not.
It is life and it is killing people. Their spirits are being broken and their faith is being crushed. The hardest part for many is the feeling that they are dying a slow death. It is like fighting a giant anaconda that slowly squeezes you to death.
And that my friends is my very happy message of cheer and good will towards men.
Stan Faryna says
I’m praying for them all. You? [grin]
Stan Faryna says
I’m praying for them all. You? [grin]
Stan Faryna says
I’m praying for them all. You? [grin]
The Absence of Alternatives says
This post somehow reminds me of what Jessica G said about how she does not want to hear anything more about the victims of mega disasters abroad; we need to focus on the less fortunate in the midst of us. There has been the alarming trend of unemployment amongst college graduates, and also the often neglected, underemployment. Being employed flipping burgers sometimes does not really count towards supporting oneself and one’s family. And everything can go so wrong if something happens and you miss a mortgage payment or two… Now I am reminded of this decade-old book Nickle and Dimed… Message of cheer indeed, my friend. Nicely done. *sigh*
The JackB says
I am concerned about the unemployed college students but far more worried about the growing numbers of 30 and 40 somethings who spent years working and suddenly find themselves on the sidelines or underemployed. I worry about them because they have young kids, mortgages and are struggling terribly to make it work.
That doesn’t mean that people that are in their fifties and above aren’t struggling too because I know many are. Frankly I am more in tune with the first group because most of my friends are somewhere between late thirties to mid forties.
It is bad and people are losing homes. It is bad and marriages are suffering and falling apart because of the strain. This is a nightmare for so many.
I have empathy and sympathy for those who are hurting in Japan and elsewhere, but we need to do better here.
The Absence of Alternatives says
This post somehow reminds me of what Jessica G said about how she does not want to hear anything more about the victims of mega disasters abroad; we need to focus on the less fortunate in the midst of us. There has been the alarming trend of unemployment amongst college graduates, and also the often neglected, underemployment. Being employed flipping burgers sometimes does not really count towards supporting oneself and one’s family. And everything can go so wrong if something happens and you miss a mortgage payment or two… Now I am reminded of this decade-old book Nickle and Dimed… Message of cheer indeed, my friend. Nicely done. *sigh*
The Absence of Alternatives says
This post somehow reminds me of what Jessica G said about how she does not want to hear anything more about the victims of mega disasters abroad; we need to focus on the less fortunate in the midst of us. There has been the alarming trend of unemployment amongst college graduates, and also the often neglected, underemployment. Being employed flipping burgers sometimes does not really count towards supporting oneself and one’s family. And everything can go so wrong if something happens and you miss a mortgage payment or two… Now I am reminded of this decade-old book Nickle and Dimed… Message of cheer indeed, my friend. Nicely done. *sigh*
The JackB says
I am concerned about the unemployed college students but far more worried about the growing numbers of 30 and 40 somethings who spent years working and suddenly find themselves on the sidelines or underemployed. I worry about them because they have young kids, mortgages and are struggling terribly to make it work.
That doesn’t mean that people that are in their fifties and above aren’t struggling too because I know many are. Frankly I am more in tune with the first group because most of my friends are somewhere between late thirties to mid forties.
It is bad and people are losing homes. It is bad and marriages are suffering and falling apart because of the strain. This is a nightmare for so many.
I have empathy and sympathy for those who are hurting in Japan and elsewhere, but we need to do better here.
The JackB says
I am concerned about the unemployed college students but far more worried about the growing numbers of 30 and 40 somethings who spent years working and suddenly find themselves on the sidelines or underemployed. I worry about them because they have young kids, mortgages and are struggling terribly to make it work.
That doesn’t mean that people that are in their fifties and above aren’t struggling too because I know many are. Frankly I am more in tune with the first group because most of my friends are somewhere between late thirties to mid forties.
It is bad and people are losing homes. It is bad and marriages are suffering and falling apart because of the strain. This is a nightmare for so many.
I have empathy and sympathy for those who are hurting in Japan and elsewhere, but we need to do better here.