In th Spirit of the Season. . .It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.From The Wealth of Nations
_Are there no prisons?”
‘Plenty of prisons,’ said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.’And the Union workhouses.’ demanded Scrooge. ‘Are they still in operation?’
‘Both very busy, sir.’
‘Oh. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,’ said Scrooge. ‘I’m very glad to hear it.’
‘Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,’ returned the gentleman, ‘a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?’
‘Nothing!’ Scrooge replied.
‘You wish to be anonymous?’
‘I wish to be left alone,’ said Scrooge. ‘Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned-they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there._
I respectfully disagree. This is not a season of pretending everything is all right. It’s a season to face ourselves and our failings. Incarnation – for Christians – means God entering into and becoming part of a broken world, not a world that never talks about its brokenness.
Err..sorry for butting in, just wanted to say how sharp Danziger is with both art and observation. Check how still that snow is, consider the begger examining his empty hand, look at the ‘well off’’ couple with their grim unhappy faces. Makes me wonder what both parties are going through. True counterpoint. Well done Mr Danziger you are one of the best you make me think and reflect
Tom: Terse as your depiction is of Narrowminded*, it is closer to the truth than Narrowminded will ever be concerning “A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.” Apparently Narrowminded either never read A Christmas Carol or, if he did, was on some very bad drugs when he read it.For Narrowminded (An apt description) and anyone else who doesn’t know the tale: The story tells of a sour, cold, stingy, and greedy semi-recluse (Ebenezer Scrooge), who under goes an ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley** and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Scrooge, through these very real dreams realizes that he too will, when he dies, end up just like Jacob Marley. The night of revelations and enlightenment create an epiphany for and within Scrooge and he returns as a benevolent, sociable man whose generosity and goodwill toward all men earn for him a near-saintly reputation.The tale has been viewed as an indictment of nineteenth century industrial capitalism, greed and avarice and probably came out of a terrible period in Dickens’ childhood where he observed the lives of the men, women, and children in the most impoverished areas of London and witnessed the social injustices they suffered despite their strong work ethic. Now, if there is any resemblance between Dickens story and the revisionist interpretation by Narrowminded, darned if I can find it. It appears that if there ever was a serpent in the apple tree, it is the narrow-minded, Narrowminded’s of the world.
*Narrow-minded: with limited outlook having or showing a limited and often prejudiced or intolerant outlook.
**The deceased business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge who spent his life on this earth obsessing over money and mistreating the poor and wretched to fill his pockets. Marley, in death, is condemned as part of his penance to walk the earth in chains, chains he unknowingly forged himself in life as a result of his extortionate behavior, experiencing an “incessant torture of remorse.
I don’t want your stinkin’ money, you self-centered ass, I want a job. They are kind of hard to find since you started importing all your merchandise from foreign countries.
“Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
Yes, it’s better if the sustenance for the poor is provided by private benevolence than by government programs, but if private benevolence were doing the trick there’d be no need for government programs. There’s also the question of paying decent wages for honest work; following Scrooge’s Christmas Eve adventure, he raises the salaries of both his housekeeper and Bob Cratchitt. Presumably he didn’t have to, and keeping the payroll down is simply “good business”, yes?
But there aren’t enough jobs to go around. There weren’t in Dickens’ time, and there aren’t now. So what to do?
charliekane over 12 years ago
In th Spirit of the Season. . .It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.From The Wealth of Nations
_Are there no prisons?”
‘Plenty of prisons,’ said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.’And the Union workhouses.’ demanded Scrooge. ‘Are they still in operation?’
‘Both very busy, sir.’
‘Oh. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,’ said Scrooge. ‘I’m very glad to hear it.’
‘Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,’ returned the gentleman, ‘a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?’
‘Nothing!’ Scrooge replied.
‘You wish to be anonymous?’
‘I wish to be left alone,’ said Scrooge. ‘Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned-they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there._
From A Christmas Carol
cdward over 12 years ago
I respectfully disagree. This is not a season of pretending everything is all right. It’s a season to face ourselves and our failings. Incarnation – for Christians – means God entering into and becoming part of a broken world, not a world that never talks about its brokenness.
pam Miner over 12 years ago
This is sad. For all the poor and disabled and children and veterans this country has turned their backs on.
babka Premium Member over 12 years ago
occupy Christmas. read George MacDonald’s Gifts of the Christ Child
jkshaw over 12 years ago
Wonderful statement Jeff. And johnbater, dry up.
rogerfromwrexham over 12 years ago
Err..sorry for butting in, just wanted to say how sharp Danziger is with both art and observation. Check how still that snow is, consider the begger examining his empty hand, look at the ‘well off’’ couple with their grim unhappy faces. Makes me wonder what both parties are going through. True counterpoint. Well done Mr Danziger you are one of the best you make me think and reflect
leweclectic over 12 years ago
Tom: Terse as your depiction is of Narrowminded*, it is closer to the truth than Narrowminded will ever be concerning “A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.” Apparently Narrowminded either never read A Christmas Carol or, if he did, was on some very bad drugs when he read it.For Narrowminded (An apt description) and anyone else who doesn’t know the tale: The story tells of a sour, cold, stingy, and greedy semi-recluse (Ebenezer Scrooge), who under goes an ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley** and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Scrooge, through these very real dreams realizes that he too will, when he dies, end up just like Jacob Marley. The night of revelations and enlightenment create an epiphany for and within Scrooge and he returns as a benevolent, sociable man whose generosity and goodwill toward all men earn for him a near-saintly reputation.The tale has been viewed as an indictment of nineteenth century industrial capitalism, greed and avarice and probably came out of a terrible period in Dickens’ childhood where he observed the lives of the men, women, and children in the most impoverished areas of London and witnessed the social injustices they suffered despite their strong work ethic. Now, if there is any resemblance between Dickens story and the revisionist interpretation by Narrowminded, darned if I can find it. It appears that if there ever was a serpent in the apple tree, it is the narrow-minded, Narrowminded’s of the world.
*Narrow-minded: with limited outlook having or showing a limited and often prejudiced or intolerant outlook.
**The deceased business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge who spent his life on this earth obsessing over money and mistreating the poor and wretched to fill his pockets. Marley, in death, is condemned as part of his penance to walk the earth in chains, chains he unknowingly forged himself in life as a result of his extortionate behavior, experiencing an “incessant torture of remorse.
gofaster7201 over 12 years ago
I don’t want your stinkin’ money, you self-centered ass, I want a job. They are kind of hard to find since you started importing all your merchandise from foreign countries.
fritzoid Premium Member over 12 years ago
“Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
Yes, it’s better if the sustenance for the poor is provided by private benevolence than by government programs, but if private benevolence were doing the trick there’d be no need for government programs. There’s also the question of paying decent wages for honest work; following Scrooge’s Christmas Eve adventure, he raises the salaries of both his housekeeper and Bob Cratchitt. Presumably he didn’t have to, and keeping the payroll down is simply “good business”, yes?
But there aren’t enough jobs to go around. There weren’t in Dickens’ time, and there aren’t now. So what to do?