Visiting the local branch of Tesco today, like every other bloody pre-Christmas weekend in recent years past, the convoys of fully laden trolleys leaving the premises would tend to suggest; there was actually some great disaster looming or perhaps (another) imminent massive war about to take place, each resulting in much-needed humanitarian relief operations…
Possibly to the surprise of many, the Relief of Mafeking was successfully executed more than one hundred years ago now, Eschatology isn’t predicting an event of Apocalyptic proportions, at least not at any time soon to my knowledge and now, even the Mayan legend that 21-12-2012 was the end of the world didn’t come to fruition, thankfully.
True to form as in so many previous years, disgustingly massive amounts of food drink and gifts have been purchased in the week running up to Christmas Day. But most of that food will actually remain uneaten and, along with a large proportion of the reaming festive detritus, it will be consigned to the weelie-bins within a few days of Christmas. All this whilst millions around our world are starving.
Convoys of bin-waggons in epic proportions reminiscent of the Band Aid relief effort, will trundle off into the countryside stuffed with extra rubbish from packaging, gift wrapping, half-eaten (or even un-eaten) food and many unwanted or already broken gifts. All destined to be deposited at already maxed out landfill sites. Somewhat naively I suppose, I’d like to think that perhaps a large proportion of bottles, along with the vast majority of the billions of Christmas cards sent and received this year would reach a recycling plant, but I doubt it.
I always find it difficult to understand the inept and somewhat juvenile Survivalist mentality that drives so many of these people today. It might have been partly relevent in days gone by, those times where all shops were closed for at least 2-3 days at Christmas (if not longer), but not now!
Much of that stockpiling of provisions is simply driven by the aggressive commercial marketing of retailers, that and a modicum of media scare-mongering. Their perennial meteorological Millenium Bug plays it’s part too, that method of reporting which indicates; we’re all going to be snowed in for months by blizzard conditions, or maybe we’ll be flooded out by rainfall that Noah would have relished.
Either way the commodities we ‘need’ won’t be available, always assuming we can actually get to the store to buy them. This type of media trash appears every winter but given the 2012 phenomenon, perhaps there’s a little more reason (excuse) to think like that than in previous years?
Thankfully, the New Age interpretation of these eschatological beliefs predicts that a transition is now taking place. The beginning of a period during which the inhabitants of this world will undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation. Could 21-12-2012 finally bring this much-needed change, at least as it relates to Christmas if nothing else?
At this time of the year I tend to adopt my annual Ebenezer Scrooge persona, not out of thrift or some miserly or inherently miserable trait but more, from a dissatisfaction with society and the individuals that live within it. But even Scrooge came good in the end for Christmas, perhaps there’s a chance for me yet?
At this time of the year our TVs are full of a myriad of cheesy movies portraying the true meanings and messages of Christmas. How many of us actually listen to the message being told in those stories?
I suspect far too few after all, the Christmas message has ben portrayed in the Arts for hundreds of years now, but we still fail to listen. You see many of us are just far too busy trying to out-do our friends with festive extravagance, or perfecting our self-indulgence of drinking and eating to excess. Despite purporting to do so, not many of us have the time (or inclination) to ever consider the plight of others less fortunate than ourselves at Christmas. Isn’t it time we all tried to prove that the eschatological gang are actually correct?
At least then hopefully every Bob Cratchit, or starving orphan in a third-world desolate land, will finally have the chance to enjoy something of life and not just at Christmas. In addition, I’ll finally be able to ditch my Scrooge costume, with the expanding waistline I have to admit it is starting to nip a little! 🙂
As Ever… Merry Humbug!
Dave's Bankside Babble 