|
|
|
December 24, 2009 Opinion |
|
|
—Editorial—
The True Meaning Of Christmas
Christmas is an interesting time of year. It either brings out the best in us or the worst. The best in us gives gifts of time and love to others. The worst in us goes into debt trying to provide that “love” and ends up with a migraine headache due to the stress of trying to do it all to please everyone.
The saddest thing about Christmas is that in all the hubbub we often lose sight of the meaning of the holiday. It’s not just about getting or giving gifts, decorating our homes with lights, putting up Christmas trees or even going to and having parties. All of those things are nice, but just as the pile of gift wrap and boxes are burned and lost to memory, so is the meaning of Christmas if we don’t revive it each year.
Most who celebrate Christmas acknowledge it as the day Jesus Christ was born, even though most theologians agree that Jesus was not born in the winter. But, Dec. 25 was chosen long ago in our culture and what does it really matter which day we chose as long as we do indeed pay honor to this wondrous event?
Christmas has come a long way since that first night in the manger so many years ago. The modern day celebration, including most of the things we associate Christmas with like Santa Claus, carols, egg nog and mistletoe were certainly not a part of the original event. But then few things we do today accurately reflect history.
This time of year, I often think of the movie “A Charlie Brown Christmas” created by Charles M. Schulz. While on their way to join the Peanuts gang at an iced-over skating pond Charlie Brown tells Linus that even though it’s Christmas time and there are presents, he feels depressed. Charlie Brown then pays a visit to Lucy in her psychiatric booth. On her advice, he gets involved in directing a school Nativity play.
Charlie Brown is frustrated with his dog Snoopy who is caught up in the commercialism of Christmas by entering his dog house in a lighting contest.
Then his sister, Sally, asks him to dictate a letter to Santa in which she just asks for money, “tens and twenties” to be exact.
Disheartened, he arrives at the school for rehearsals, and try as he might, he can’t convince the others to stick to the traditional script. He goes out and buys a tree, thinking that will help them to get into the spirit of Christmas. The gang is expecting a "big, shiny aluminum tree...maybe painted pink.” But Charlie brings back the only real living tree on the lot, which is small with sparse needles. After he is verbally castigated by everyone for his choice, he begins to wonder if he really knows the meaning of Christmas.
Linus quietly says he can tell him, and walks to center stage under a spotlight and quotes the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Charlie Brown decides to decorate the tree himself and when he adds the first ornament the little tree bends from the weight and looses needles. He leaves discouraged. When he returns the entire Peanuts gang has decorated the little tree making it look magnificent. And the spirit of Christmas, as least with the Peanuts gang is restored.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” reminds viewers of the true meaning of Christmas — the birth of Jesus Christ. When the show was first introduced in 1965 network executives did not want to have Linus recite the story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel. Schultz however was adamant about keeping this scene in and reportedly said, "If we don't tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?" Schultz eventually won his argument and it was aired with the Gospel. “A Charlie Brown Christmas, with it’s Bible Scripture intact won an Emmy and a Peabody award, and has become a timeless Christmas classic.
Good grief, it looks like the network was wrong and people really do like having a show that reminds them of the true meaning of Christmas.
I personally don’t think Jesus would care if we burned the turkey, scorched the yams or bought gifts at the Dollar Store as long as the love Jesus taught is there. Love is free, you can’t charge it to a Visa or wrap it in a box, it comes from the heart. Have a very Merry Charlie Brown kind of Christmas . (DS)
—Guest Opinion—
What Would Reagan Do?
Reprinted by permission The Capital Press
Following the news these days, with the economy staggering under the weight of misdeeds on Wall Street, mistrust on Main Street and misplaced priorities on Capitol Hill, it causes one to ponder this question: What would Reagan do?
When he took office in 1980, Ronald Reagan inherited a full-blown economic meltdown. An oil embargo had sent the price of oil through the roof and the supply of gasoline through the floorboards. Iran had held Americans hostage for 444 days and Reagan's predecessor, Jimmy Carter, had lectured the nation that it would never be the world leader it once was.
Sound faintly familiar? It is.
But there's one key difference. Though President Barack Obama is intent on proving his theorem that more government should and can solve all the nation's problems, Reagan took an entirely different tack.
Instead of cramming trillion-dollar deficits down the public's throats to pay for health care, two wars, cap and tax plans and God-knows-what-else, Reagan believed that the best thing to do was to allow the economy to work.
The first thing he did was cut taxes. Then he set about wringing runaway inflation out of the economy.
Fueled by lower taxes and with inflation arrested, the economy shifted into high gear.
When Reagan was pressured to step in to reduce interest rates he confidently told reporters that he would "stay the course" until inflation was dead. Thanks in part to him, inflation has remained under control ever since.
When others called for this new program or that new agency, he stepped aside, instead putting his faith in American ingenuity to solve problems, not more government.
When still others criticized his spending on a strong military, he stood firm, knowing that it would tip the Soviet Union into the dustbin of history. In the end, the Soviet Union and communism were vanquished, and the U.S. emerged from the Reagan years stronger than ever.
Fast forward to 2009. Congress and President Obama are spending money like there's no tomorrow trying to be all things to all people and solving problems that some would say don't even exist. A health care tax, carbon tax and war surtax on income are in the offing. A value-added tax is in the wings, all while the economy is still in the recovery room. All told we're looking at a $1.4 trillion deficit from last year -- and the president and Congress are just getting warmed up for their attempt to beat that record red ink this year.
As a result, economists say that though the recession is slowly fading, a full recovery may be years away.
Economists have offered words of caution to the public in general and farmers in particular. Economist Dave Kohl recently told the national convention of the American Agri-Women that farmers should build up a cash reserve that will last them nine months to tide them over while the economy mends.
Economist Edmond Siefried agreed that the U.S. economy is getting better but predicted that it will take four to five years to make it past the "recovery lite" stage.
The problem Siefried sees is that people have learned their lesson of thrift too well. With the exception of Congress, which can't spend money fast enough, so has this generation.
Siefried warned that there's a problem with the savings ethic. The more everyone saves, the slower the economy grows, he told the Washington State Horticultural Association last week.
Pile a whole agenda of new federal taxes on top of that, and it may be a while longer before the economy fully recovers.
—Letters To The Editor—
Keep The Holidays Safe
To The Record-Courier:
Each year kids unwrap a toy that later may cause them serious eye injury. As you head out for last minute Christmas shopping, I encourage you to buy eye-friendly toys that will help your child avoid serious eye injury.
Avoid toys with sharp points or edges, and projectile abilities. Supervise younger kids so they don’t get hold of a toy meant for an older child.
Instead, buy age-appropriate toys with rounded edges that stimulate visual development, improve hand-eye coordination and demonstrate spatial relationships.
This season, make sure your child is not one of the 11,000 kids’ eye injuries caused by toys or home playground equipment each year.
Todd Briscoe, OD
Oregon Optometric Physicians Association
Milwaukie, Ore.
Winterize Your Vehicle
To The Record-Courier:
Motorists in most of the country face severe weather conditions for at least part of the winter. The thought of a breakdown, an engine not starting or otherwise being stranded is stressful as it is, but those things happening in freezing winter weather add another level of threat. An investment of an hour or so to have your vehicle checked is all it takes to have peace of mind and help avoid the cost and stress of a breakdown during harsh weather.
Battery - Very cold temperatures will reduce a vehicle's battery power so it’s important to keep the connections clean, tight and corrosion-free. Unfortunately, batteries don't always give warning signs before they fail completely. If your vehicle's battery is more than three years old, it's wise to replace it.
Antifreeze - The typically recommended mixture of antifreeze (coolant) and water inside most vehicles’ radiator is 50:50. When properly mixed, antifreeze provides excellent anti-boil, anti-freeze and anticorrosive properties. Coolant should be flushed and refilled at least every two years in most vehicles. As a reminder, don’t make the mistake of adding 100 percent antifreeze.
Oil - Change to low-viscosity oil, as it will flow more easily between moving parts when cold. Drivers in sub-zero driving temperatures should drop their oil weight from 10-W30 to 5-W30 as thickened oil can make it hard to start the car.
To make sure your car is ready for the road this winter, visit the Car Care Council’s Web site at www.carcare.org and check out the popular digital Car Care Guide.
Rich White
Executive Director
Car Care Council
Arrest For Overdue Books ‘Appalling’
To the Record Courier:
It was brought to my attention that a local family (Editor’s note: the family is embarrassed by the incident and didn’t want their name published) checked out some children's books from the Baker County Library in Baker some time ago. A couple of days before the books' due date, their baby was born. They completely forgot to return the library books. They said they did not receive a "courtesy" reminder from the library.
Five days before Christmas, Dec. 20, and on a Sunday mind you, the dad who had checked out the books was visited by the Baker County Sheriff's Department with a warrant for his arrest for not returning the books. Instead, the officer gave him a citation with a court date to appear after the holidays.
The family is going to return the books and pay the fees, but do you think this is an appropriate use of our tax dollars?
Personally, I think that this was totally unnecessary and appalling. In looking over my statement of itemized taxes I am paying on my home owner’s taxes per year, I think the taxes we pay to the Baker County Library could go to a better use for the library, like books, rather than trying to put someone in jail for late library books. Just my opinion though. Happy Holidays!
Teri Brown-Johnson
Haines, Ore.
Same Old Stuff
To The Record-Courier:
I was at a meeting the other night, when the collection basket came around and a brand new bill was staring right at me. The words “United States of America” stood out like a beacon, and my instant and involuntary thought was, “what a bad joke, it should read ‘The Divided States of America’ because that’s what we are. Funny isn’t it, the things that happen in a life time?
I remember when I was marching on the drill field in San Diego, a WW2 volunteer, to the “Stars and Stripes Forever” and I thought my shirt couldn’t hold my chest, I was so damn proud to be an American. Not so much anymore what with all the slight of hand chicanery that seems to make up our political scenery. I’m talking about the lying cynicism, fed us by the lying cynics we keep sending to Washington. It seems obvious the slimy business of politics, no matter how presented, whatever its claims, has always been and will always be the systematic organization of deep seated hatreds. (See summer town hall behavior.) That’s easy to understand when you look at our immediate past, the illegal gift of the Supreme Court anointing the fumbling, bumbling man they did as President in 2000.
What a sick joke on we the people, with disastrous consequences such as the 9/11/01 tragedy that our inept leaders were fully informed of before it happened. Where were these hustlers when we needed them? Can you imagine what the ultimate cost of that oversight will be in money and lives. So in 2008 along comes our great opportunity to elect a truly intelligent man, and surprise, surprise, we did. He didn’t even get a start on the job before the same old crowd of intellectually challenged obstructionists, I call them boo birds, were in position booing every move the man has made. Forget the fact that his organization pulled us out of the very worse predicament since Hoover and the Great Depression in 1928.
Now what? Our President and his cabinet want so desperately to get universal health care passed so millions of Americans who have no health insurance can be covered, and here comes the obstructionists humming their same old negative songs. “We the GOP don’t give a hoot about the have-nots, let ‘em get their own.” Man, where do these people come from? In my secret heart, during the last election, I was thinking it would be great if the Republicans won and absolutely smashed our ship of state to pieces, which is where it was headed. The reason I was hoping for that, was on the outside chance the Republican party would be totally annihilated by its own pitiful ineptitude. The GOP is always all about money. They do nothing for the common man except hold his head under water, and the terrible thing about it is WE KEEP LETTING THEM!
Gene Wall
Baker City
|
|
|
