Blue Notes from a Red Zone

Shoring up Christmas Spirits

The news continues to be full of "war against Christmas" protests, first and foremost centered on outrage at being greeted with the words "happy holidays." At first I was just bewildered by this continuation of a bogus campaign first launched by the John Birch Society in 1959, but now I've decided to join in. Let me be at the front of the line of individuals protesting the people who are assaulting my Christmas spirit: the pro-torture, anti-civil liberties crowd.

I would like to ignore, just for awhile, the ugliness in the world and the awful things we do to each other in the name of religion, freedom, or other words it seems we cannot understand. But the hits keep on coming. The Bush administration still defends the use of torture, having inserted a gaping loophole in the McCain bill to outlaw it, and the letters in our local newspaper reflect a stunning consensus in our area regarding not just the necessity, but the desirability, of inflicting pain and grievous bodily harm to anyone who isn't one of "them." Our president finally finds a cause that has him fighting mad, and it concerns the gall of the media for publishing his authorization of illegal surveillance of American citizens. His "right" to be above the law may be compromised, and he is ready for heads to roll. The irony of the fact that all the most incompetent, corrupt and blind members of his cabal still have their heads attached totally escapes him.

The idea that anyone could be pro-torture (and almost certainly, in the same breath, pro-life) is one that I find inexplicable. Putting aside the fact that torture is barbarous, savage and prohibited by international law, it still fails because it is ineffective. Information collected by torture is worthless. The intel that propelled us to war in Iraq was largely drawn from suspects who were tortured in order to attain it. All we learned is that people will say whatever they think their torturers want to hear in order to escape the pain. That was not news.

And even if the information extracted was valid, it would still be of little to no value 72 hours after it was obtained. To our shame, we are torturing people far after the 72-hour window is closed. Indeed, we are torturing people who we have good reason to know are innocent for months and even years after their capture.

Equally difficult to understand is how we "protect" freedom by giving it up. Allowing the President to place himself above the courts and Congress, to authorize clearly illegal acts, seems a strange way to defend our liberty. On the other hand, it seems an excellent method for setting up a dictatorship, and one that is not marked by compassion for anyone other than megalithic corporate officers.

The knowledge that our country is turning its back on our most precious ideals is not doing a thing for my holiday mood. It adds to my feeling of powerlessness, of having no control over issues that mean a great deal to me. It makes the phrase, "peace on earth, good will toward men," ring more than just a little bit hollow.

But I am determined to be resilient, to reclaim my Christmas no matter how assailed I may feel. I shared the afternoon with a friend, and we talked and wrapped packages and baked cookies. This evening, four of us took the two-year-old to see Christmas lights, and his enthusiasm was brighter than any star on display.

So my message to those who are finding their Christmas ruined by stores who promote "home for the holidays" to get over it. If I can believe in "peace on earth" despite wars, torture and poverty, then you can handle hearing the phrase "have a happy holiday." We just need to focus on what truly matters in our lives, and perhaps we will all have a merry Christmas after all.

posted by Lenore Wilson @ 8:57 PM