Christmas Giving

Thanksgiving is behind us now, and we can concentrate on the next big holiday- Christmas! There are very nice things about the Christmas season. This can be a time of family get-togethers, a time of gift giving to show our affection for those in our lives. For many in the western world, this is a time of religious significance. Christians celebrate the birth of their faith, Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah (festival of light) and Muslims this year will celebrate Ashura. Forgive my ignorance of eastern religions- but I'm sure they too have a significant celebration for this time of year. Our most ancient ancestors celebrated the winter solstice for thousands of years before the big religions even existed. This is also the time of year when charities, particularly religious charities, ramp up their requests for much needed donations. Just last week I, myself, participated in a candlelight march to help kick off Catholic Charities donation drive. All of us will see solicitations in our mailboxes, and be haled in person by volunteers standing outside stores. The plea will go out from pulpits everywhere to give generously at this "special time of year".

Requests for donations at this time of year are no accident. Religious groups count on the special feelings of the season to open our hearts to those less fortunate. In this time of giving to loved ones and giving to our selves, it's only natural to think we can be more persuaded to give to others too. And, it actually works! Charles Dickens even used Christmas as a vehicle to make his most effective statement about the treatment of the poor in "A Christmas Carrol". It's only right for those who are inclined to give to charities, to do so during the holiday season. Nothing wrong with that. And, if it makes feel us good or confirms religious values, then so be it. However, I suggest there is more we need to think about during these very trying times- particularly during this time of Christmas giving.

We are experiencing the worst economic conditions in the last seventy-five years. Unemployment is unacceptably high, and stuck there. The wealth gap between the rich and the rest of us is at an all time high. Homelessness is increasing- poverty rates are climbing. There are now more people living in poverty in American than at any other time in our history- nearly one in five of us. One in every four children in this country is poor. 60 million people have no health care. 45.8 million of us need food stamp assistance, that's15% of our country.

There are some in this country who will argue that charitable giving is the best way to address the enormous needs of our people. The conservatives will tell you that "in the good old days" the churches did it all and we need to return to those times-when people "took care of each other". If that were true, the numbers I cited in the paragraph above would not be true- and the churches themselves would be the first to tell you so. Tragically these numbers are real- and conditions continue to deteriorate for the poor in this country and around the world. So, whatever the level of our religious fervor and our charity- it is not enough! Not enough by a very, very long way. Charitable giving is only the kindling- it is not the fuel needed to meet the great needs of our people.

We have a source for the fuel needed to meet these needs. It is the source our founding fathers envisioned when they determined that our government had an obligation to "provide for the general welfare". The answer to the issues that plague our economy and have caused so much misery is to get people working again. There are proposals before Congress right now- but those proposals have been held up or stonewalled for political reasons. The President put a package before Congress many weeks ago. It included an infra-structure jobs program-extension of middle class tax cuts (payroll tax holiday)- jobs incentives to hire vets- increasing taxes on millionaires and billionaires, along with tax reform- and an extension of unemployment benefits till people can find work. It got no where because Republicans in Congress stopped it. Then the President offered to break it up and have it voted on in pieces. Again it stalled Congress, except for the veteran's piece (for obvious political reasons). The tax breaks for the middle class will likely go down to defeat this week, because Republicans will insist on more for the wealthy, before they do anything for the rest of us-even though it means more taxes on working people. They will also likely end the extension of unemployment benefits for up to 6 million more people.

So I ask, are we a people of conscience? If we are a people of conscience, whether our conscience is rooted in our sense of humanity or our core religious beliefs, then don't we have an obligation to speak out for those who are suffering? Is this not one of the core tenants of Christian doctrine? During this time of heightened religious belief, sensitivity, and giving could there not be a better time to act? I hope you"ll give to the charities that seek to assist the poor, but only if you realize the need exceeds any church's or organization's ability to solve the problem. If your belief system creates a moral/ethical obligation (religious or otherwise) then you must insist that our government leaders do what ONLY they can do to restore economic justice to the people. Just as you raise up your voices in church- raise your voice up to our leaders and tell them to put aside their pettiness and do what's best for the country. This is how we "take care of each other" now. If enough of us call or write to our congressional Representatives, our Senators and our President we will make a difference. Perhaps giving of ourselves to make this effort, becoming involved, may be the best kind of giving you can do this Christmas.

Thanks for looking in.