It’s December 24th , or Christmas eve should you follow Christian folklore. I used to love it as a kid. Firelight glinting off the fragile baubles on the tree: a four-year-old me perched on top of my parents’ big wooden radiogram, looking up at the night sky in hope of flying reindeer. The dreaded embarrassment of school nativity with its discordant shrieking of carols – I believed all the stories back then. Our pleasures were simple in those days: people worked hard to earn what little they had, and appreciated it all the more for it. Sadly there’s not much left of that world since rampant greed and commercialism swallowed it whole. Christmas is just another day for me now. I’ve long stepped away from all the hype and hypocrisy, watching the annual festive frenzy and shaking my head in despair at the madness of it all.
We’re told that the Earth is around 6 billion years old. Back in the mists of time, someone wrote that a god-like being created this beautiful planet in 6 days. Arthur C. Clarke wrote as good an explanation as any in his book, 2001. No one made a religion out of that…
Who decided that Jesus should be born on December 25th? That’s blatantly untrue! Winter Solstice is the original celebration, hijacked by the church to control the masses through superstition. God created man? Other way around, methinks. Religion is about control, especially for the intolerant still stuck in the Middle Ages, using ‘faith’ as an excuse for violence, cruelty and murder. Not very holy is it? Or take the vast wealth and priceless works of art accumulated by the Vatican – isn’t that the very antithesis of what Jesus was supposed to preach? Religion’s weakness lies in the seven deadly sins of imperfect human nature, a rotten core hidden beneath a pious cloak of respectability. Faith should be a personal choice, not imposed by others. Many people take great comfort from their beliefs, while many more are oppressed because of it. Respect each other and do as you would be done by, that’s all it would take, yet Humanity remains incapable.
Then we have Peace on Earth and goodwill to all men: that’s going well, as usual. A handful of thuggish dictators and heartless terrorists create misery for millions across the globe. God alone (pick the one you favour) knows what’s going on amidst the endless violence of the Middle East. The coward Putin still knocking hell out of Ukraine, raining death and destruction for nothing more than his own warped ego. The rapacious Chinese threaten all who don’t kowtow to their oppressive regime, sabre rattling over the sovereign state of tiny Taiwan. Then we have the North Korean Dr Evil wannabe, hitching his wagon to any passing tyrant. Nothing but bullies, every single one of them. They all want more nukes and bigger nukes than anyone else, when in all probability there’s already more than enough destructive capability stockpiled to wipe out life on the entire planet. Press the button and enjoy the rest of your lives comrades, sealed deep inside the tomb of your underground bunkers, never again to see the sky and feel the warmth of the sun. Reap what you sow. Morons.
Imagine all the good that could be done with the huge amount of money being wasted on weapons! Clean up the oceans and reduce pollution; find better ways to recycle; discover new medicines; preserve fragile eco-systems and protect endangered species. We could develop alternative energies so that maybe one day, we really could just stop oil – but not yet – we need it to run the generators and charge all those electric cars that nobody wants. Out of interest, has anybody thought how to they’re going to tackle the impending toxic tons of lithium car batteries once they’ve expired? Nah, course not. Fiendish weapons are far more fun! Destruction trumps preservation in the global game of rock-paper-scissors.
Notice how all the eco-idiots have disappeared now that winter is upon us? Their thirst for 15 minutes of virtue-signalling fame evaporates in the cold and wet, along with their penchant for gluing themselves to the tarmac. Good riddance, we say: maybe provide some answers or solutions instead of repeating petulant demands. Oh wait, it’s Christmas – hold the ‘climate change’ hysteria! Suddenly it’s imperative to import massive containers of glittery plastic landfill from China, and string up 50 feet of blazing coloured lights to outshine the neighbours. Imagine how dark it would be if we ‘just’ stopped oil. Ooh, and don’t forget the essential 10 foot inflatable snowman to put on the lawn, just to make it really tacky! But look at us, we’re all being sooo sustainable… Don’t worry, Nature knows what she’s doing. She’s been doing it for 6 billion years, long before we came along. Everything is finite, including us.
Well that’s been brewing for a good few years! I’d like to think there’s still some fundamental good in us as a species, despite all evidence to the contrary. So regardless of religion, nation, colour or creed – Happy December 25th – and peace on Earth for us all. We can but hope…
Spinning on the Wind 