The Good Friday of Christmas?

My wife and I couldn't find the normal "Christmas" setting on our emotional dials this year. It's been a bit of a wild ride recently, and we were right in the middle of moving and painting... But I think it's more than that. I feel like our culture's push to post-Christmasness (Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, etc.) is leaving people properly baffled. In effort to take Christ out of our culture, we've taken Christmas out of the December break, and then what's the point? Putting "seasonal presents" under a "holiday tree" is well past the point of ridiculous.

I like the reflection this Christmas brought. Like just how humble Jesus' advent was. I get the feeling reading the story that Mary and Joseph were so desperate to find a place that they were actually relieved to find a smelly barn. That never struck me before. I guess I just couldn't bring myself to accept the messy, stinky reality of it. Here was Jesus, born into a very desperate time, surrounded by poverty, disease and opression. (Well set aside that he was born so that he could die perhaps the most miserable death on record.) It seems a little discordant that sublime gifts should commemorate a historical event so earthy.

Perhaps this is the beginning of a new imperative: once again the meaning of Christmas will be determined by the church, and not the department store. Or perhaps it's just one more testament to the cultural dengration of Christianity. Perhaps both. All I know is that I don't want presents to cloud the meaning of Christmas for my children, either by their presence or their absence. It's going to be a complicated world they join. That's for certain. Perhaps it will be one with a resurrected Christmas...

We Will Have Our Victory

Dubya says it, it must be true. Has this war in Iraq not gone on long enough? I've heard so much broadcasting from the administration about how they need to "stay the course", and that "victory is at hand". Their resolve may not be crumbling, but their credibility sure is.

I am so glad Canada isn't in this one. The Canadians who are making the tough-to-read headlines are the ones without guns, bombs or tanks. They're the ones who are humbly willing to risk and sacrifice their lives in effort to bring peace.

This is my country: to stand against the threat of oppression from more powerful nations, to hold true to justice. Stripped of fanfare and tickertape, this is our victory!

Legislating Democracy

I have a real distrust of the west's global "encouragement" of democracy. Putting aside the inherent duplicity of the objective for a moment (your freedom at the end of my gun), democracy can and will be shaped by its cultural context. It stands to reason that if a monarchy changes to a democracy, its society will vote in the king, and pay the king the homage he expects. He may be called Prime Minister, or President, and it may even be a different person in office, but there is little fundamental change to the structure of power. And if we're trying to have democracy in a global sense, then unique interpretations of democracy need to be allowed.

That's not to say that I endorse oppression by any form of leadership. I don't. On the other hand, every system finds a way to marginalise someone.

My opinion is the west's interference in foreign nations' governmental structure is simply another way to destabilise them. For example, if we had a stable, organised Middle East, its power would increase immeasurably due to the monopolisation of the world's energy. Playing each country against each other like pieces on a chess board keeps things favourably unsettled.

The west has made the somewhat arbitrary decision that all countries should employ democracy/capitalism, which on the surface sounds good. But its real aims are much more nebulous.

Joel's Gig

Pentax MZ-6 w/ 50mm F:1.7
Scanned from Fuji Superia 400
Available light.

Pentax MZ-6 w/ 18-35mm
Scanned from Fuji Superia 400
Available light.

Pentax MZ-6 w/ 18-35mm
Scanned from Fuji Superia 400
Available light.

These were shot at the gig of a friend of mine. Joel and I have known each other more years than either can -- or want to -- count. I finally made it to one of his shows. Though low key and casual, it was fun to hear him perform. Perhaps when he records the new stuff, he'll ask me to provide some sax back up tracks. No pressure, Joel!