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CounterPunch
December
24, 2002
Where are the
Wise Men?
by LINDA HEARD
The lights are blinking, the malls are full and
so are our stomachs. Fat Santas hand out plastic toys, with plastic
smiles above fake beards. As we scramble to make our last minute
purchases, we worry about how long the Turkey has to cook; whether
we have enough chocolate log and how will we possibly survive
an entire day with the in-laws.
The strains of carols and Christmas songs
fill the air as we head to the nearest bar to enjoy that Christmas
drink. Shimmering firs and gaudy decorations, exchanging gifts
we can often ill afford, Christmas pudding with brandy butter,
the big match, a shmaltzy musical, and a monumental hangover
are what Christmas is all about. Bah!
This year we could do with a visit from
the Ghost of Christmas Past. We need to be reminded of just what
we are supposed to be celebrating. We need to be taken by the
hand to the birthplace of the child who grew up advocating peace,
forgiveness, love and goodwill to all men - the town of Bethlehem.
This is the town where, tired and hungry,
Mary and her carpenter husband Joseph took refuge in a stable
because there was no room at the inn. This is the very place
where Jesus drew his first breaths as foretold by the stars,
which guided three wise men to his side. The child brought a
message of hope to mankind and forever more Bethlehem, or 'Home
of Bread' represented all that is good in the world.
But on this Christmas at the end of the
year 2002, there is little bread in Bethlehem and even less hope.
Its ancient cobbled streets are over-run with the ugly tanks
and armored personnel carriers of an occupying power. Its people
are hungry, their children suffering from malnutrition and fear,
their mothers fighting anemia and stress, their fathers, anger
and frustration.
There will be few wise men and women
from foreign lands in Bethlehem this Christmas, most frightened
away by the harsh trappings of occupation. Most of its inns will
be empty, its souvenir shops closed and its roads will remain
unlit due to lack of funds. But what do we care? After all, we
dwell in lands of plenty and relative safety. We don't have to
worry about our children being filled with bullet holes while
still clutching a stone. We don't expect to be hit by a tank
shell while shopping in the market and we can reasonably expect
our elderly mothers and fathers to die in their beds, not gunned
down in the streets near our homes.
When women give birth in our societies,
they expect to receive the best pre and post natal treatment
both for themselves and their babies. In the West Bank, newborns
are lucky to survive at all. Many are born at roadblocks while
17 have died from complications because the IDF willfully prevented
ambulances from reaching their mothers. Who knows? If Jesus had
been born last week he may not have been one of the lucky ones.
We sit smug in our pretty, climate-controlled
houses and apartments with perhaps a Snow Man gracing the garden,
a mistletoe wreath on the front door and a blaze of Poinsettia
around the hearth. 'Merry Christmas' we cry to all and sundry
truly believing that our hearts are filled with kindness and
cheer. After all, we gave a dollar to the Red Cross and a box
of chocolates to the recently widowed woman next door. Heck!
We even plan to attend Midnight Mass. We must be good people.
Right?
Yes, sure, we're good people. We are
so well behaved that we only see what we are supposed to see.
Although we know in our heart-of-hearts that a force that flagrantly
ignores UN resolutions and the Geneva Conventions has illegally
occupied the West Bank and Gaza, we tell ourselves that it's
none of our business. And in any case, the Israelis have so much
more in common with us. Many of those 'nice settlers' came from
the US. They are used to having a pool. It's too bad if the neighboring
Palestinians don't have enough water to drink or to irrigate
their olive groves, but Americans have to keep their standards
you know. Right?
In any case, most of those Palestinians
are Moslems. Last September 19 Moslem terrorists used passenger
planes to knock down buildings in New York and Washington. Our
governments took their revenge on our behalf and bombed Afghanistan.
It's a pity that a few brides and grooms were among the more
than 4,000 dead but there's always collateral damage, you know.
Shame about the dead babies under the rubble too.
Now our leaders are getting set to invade
Iraq, and perhaps the entire Middle East and the Gulf. Thousands,
maybe hundreds of thousands could well lose their lives, others
could suffer terrible injuries, unimaginable man-made diseases
could be unleashed on the planet, perhaps a nuclear bomb could
be dropped as a message from the superpower. We want to kick
butt to avenge the victims of 9-11. We'll show those Moslems
that they can't mess with us and get away with it. And we can
hardly blame the Israelis if they take the opportunity to kick
those pesky Palestinians and their suicide bombers across the
Jordan River while they have the chance. Right?
Back in the birthplace of Jesus, worshipers
exiting Saint Catherine's Church last Sunday said that this Christmas
is destined to be the bleakest they have ever known. "We've
been robbed of our freedom," said one whose business was
demolished by the Israeli army two years ago.
Another spoke of being unable to celebrate
this year because 'we're psychologically battered after two years
of death and wanton destruction."
Last year the Church of the Nativity
came under attack by Israeli forces and even the statue of the
Virgin Mary atop the church was damaged. A monk and a bell ringer
were shot and killed by trigger happy Israeli soldiers and all
the while we swallowed the lies put out by our governments and
their propaganda arms that clergy and nuns were being held hostage
by Palestinian terrorists. Where were the outraged Christians
then, and where are they now?
Oh, how we love to dress up our children
and take them to church to gaze at the pastoral scene with baby
Jesus as its centerpiece or, perhaps, we go to watch them acting
in a nativity play. We may even shed a tear as we watch little
Ben playing Joseph or our sweet Jody dressed as Mary. And yet,
when the real place where the Christian savior came into the
world is desecrated by innocent blood and its congregation oppressed
and attacked, we change the channel and pretend that all is well.
Well all is not well. All is very far
from being well. Millions of right-wing Evangelists calling themselves
Christians unconditionally support the Israeli government, both
morally and financially. Those same 'Christians' are behind the
Bush administration and its self-proclaimed Crusade. Some of
these 'Christians' actually want to usher in Armageddon using
the Israelis to do so in keeping with their Messianic beliefs.
They seriously look forward to WW3 and the demise of most of
us so that the Jews can build their third temple after which
the second coming is prophesied.
The Catholic Church appears to have stepped
back more concerned about sweeping away its wayward priests and
manufacturing new saints than making a decisive stand on the
future of humankind.
Having said that, there are many Christians
in America who do feel uncomfortable with the warmongering way
their country is going. There are many Christians who feel a
dichotomy between their Christian beliefs and the pull of rampant
nationalism. Many have demonstrated outside southern Baptist
churches and tried to spread a message of peace.
In Britain, too, there are dissenting
church leaders. There, Anglican bishops have come out firmly
against the killing of innocent people for whatever purpose and
they propose to say as much to their congregations on Christmas
Day. At least, they have the moral fortitude and strength of
conviction to tell the British government 'No, not in our name'
and not in the name of Christianity.
What a spoilt and gutless lot some of
us have become! We don't deserve Christmas if all we are going
to do is sit around stuffing our bellies and swigging booze pretending
we are celebrating the life of Christ. Christ told us to love
our enemies. Instead, we are making more enemies through our
bigotry, greed and misplaced self-righteousness. We are devaluing
God-given human life and when Donald Rumsfeld gets up on a podium
and talks proudly of how many war fronts his armies can manage
at one time, as he did last Monday, he makes a mockery of this
season of goodwill to all men.
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how you
must be weeping. May God keep you and your people safe, and may
you once again become the symbol of love and peace you once were.
This can only happen when all good people unite no matter what
their race, color or creed to forge a better world. Are you one
of the wise men... or women? Think about it! Merry Christmas!
Linda Heard
is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She can be reached
at: freenewsreport@yahoo.com
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