What is the meaning of Christmas? Simply put,it's about innocence, and if the whole story is considered, the betrayal of innocence. We tend to focus on one part at a time, Good Friday celebrating the betrayal.
No matter what you think of Jesus, if he was born into this world to suffer and die, you have to wonder about a Father God who would concoct such a scheme that would target a child from birth to go through what Jesus has purportedly suffered. That is the first betrayal. Fathers should not do heinous things to their children. No excuses, no theology should speak of it, nothing, nothing should permit it. I have to believe that the Father God really had other plans, and did not approve of the situation he found his son in. If he had a do it over, a different path to salvation would have come about.
I think a second betrayal of innocence is what happens in society today. We see it in schools and on city streets throughout the world. For some reason, it has become okay to snuff out life of the innocent. Young people who have had little opportunity to blossom as individuals get destroyed, often because they happen to be in the wrong place in the neighborhood, or city, or country.
The betrayal is supported by the system that encourages revenge, an eye for an eye; a body for a body; a crime for a crime. It's supported by a bureaucracy that allows virtually anyone to have a gun. In some places, the gun can be worn as an appendage, and is used as such. The betrayal comes full circle when grand juries decide justice, denying a fair public trial based on evidence. The innocent, the victim lying in the street, and the person(s) causing the death, cry out for justice.
Justice assumed is the betrayal of innocence.
So we celebrate innocence at Christmas. We revel in it. We pray, we are mindful of its importance and it's fragile nature. We celebrate our determination to protect it, to work for it, no matter our beliefs, no matter our petty differences, no matter the thoughtless Facebook aphorisms to the contrary. Let innocence reign, please.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Hail Zeus
We shared the bread after a team effort to bake it, and then the two lively girls bowed down in adoration to their new friend Zeus. Zeus, the elegant old boxer, leapt for joy as they entered the kitchen area, prepared to take on all comers, jumping around, his 95 pounds, jostling the lithe ten-year olds, nearly knocking them over. Eventually he calmed down, and the friendship began.
Ellie and Sophie had come with Jenny to bake Bucellate, an Easter bread that I had taken on as my tradition, following in the footsteps of my mother and Italian grandmother. The recipe is different from theirs, but the ritual of making festive bread is what counts. As I got out the bowls, one for each of the four bread makers, the girls lay on the floor next to mighty Zeus, imitating his stretched out image. Then as I prepared the yeast and added ingredients to the individual bowls, they began petting him, rubbing his soft fur, certainly dislodging a great deal of it with each stroke.
The hairs will be in the bread I thought. "Wash your hands, girls," Jenny said, " They have to be clean so you can knead the dough." Reluctantly, the girls rose up from their coddling and repaired to the bathroom to wash up. When they came to the table to mix the ingredients, Zeus followed them. His tradition was to hang around wherever there was food, hoping to have some scraps from the table. No pieces fell, but he did get a few more pats on the head from the girls, much to my chagrin since I was trying to do the process with no contamination from dog hair.
Eventually, the bread dough got mixed and kneaded the required time and was returned to the bowls for the first rise that would take about an hour. The girls went out to play in the sunny 50 degree heat that was melting the few patches of snow cover remaining from the April storm of the day before. Zeus, excited to have playmates, romped out to the stream with them. All returned within a few minutes, and then the girls, uncertain about the adults reaction, popped the question, "Can we go wading in the stream?"
My internal reaction was "Are you crazy? That water is barely above freezing!" But Jenny said "Isn't the water cold?" "No" was the reply. "We felt it and it is very warm." "I'll get some towels," I said, "but you have to be careful out there. There are a lot of rocks and stones that will hurt your feet." "We will be" was the response. Zeus stayed in, a little tired after all the romping.
The bread making progressed while they were in the stream. Jenny and I formed the risen dough into circles and prepared them for the second rising. The girls were a little disappointed to have missed that part, but after taking off their wet socks, they decided to explore the house. Zeus continued to rest.
Their youthful curiosity brought them upstairs into the alcove where they found the treasure trove. First, they brought down Bob, a big overstuffed furry cat. They talked to the stuffed animal that quickly became their friend. They held its paws as they introduced him to us, and carefully set him down, near his protector Zeus, so he could watch as they painted the egg white glaze onto the breads before baking.
"Did you find the frog?" I asked. "A frog... there's a frog!" they screamed with glee, and they thundered up the stairs. We heard stomping, and then thunder as they came down the stairs, each wearing a straw hat, a Huck Finn and Pancho, with Sophie solemnly bearing the green frog on her hat. They introduced the frog to Zeus and to us.
The house was filled with the aroma of the fresh bread, and we removed it from the oven. We decided to sample one loaf because it fell apart as we were removing it from the pan...so unfortunate. We tore it apart, little chunk by little chunk, and I realized that this was the best Bucellate that I had tasted in years, and there were no dog hairs. Zeus got his crumbs.
As they were about to leave, the adoration of Zeus began. First the girls knelt next to him and imitated his pose. Then they stroked and petted him. And finally turned to him and bowed their heads to the ground. "Hail...O great Zeus" they proclaimed.
Zeus saw them to the door. He got his obeisance, and ate his food, and then some leftovers from lunch.
In retrospect, over the past several months, I had noticed occasions when the great dog seemed to have difficulty getting his legs straight. I attributed that to the cold weather. He also snored a lot. All dogs do. And his appetite, except for treats, was waning. He had been coughing, perhaps kennel cough. Swallowing was difficult the past few weeks. He didn't run back into the house the way he used to. But that night, Holy Thursday, he had a seizure that lasted several minutes. After resting, he went outside for a few minutes, and then rested and panted for about ten minutes before he settled down to the evening sleep.
I had scheduled an appointment with the vet at 11:00 the next morning, but after going outside on his usual morning routine, the regal dog rested, and again had difficulty getting up, and over the next twenty minutes, panted. As I talked to the vet on the phone at 10:00 on Good Friday, Zeus stopped breathing. He had lived for twelve years. Ten of those years, he was the protector of my daughter Meg as she walked him on the streets of Boston and New Haven. He came to me and Dan just before the birth of Khaled, now one and a half years old. He was with me when my dear wife Phyllis passed shortly after the baby was born. And he charmed Ellie and Sophie the other day, so that he had a loving send off to reign on high. Hail Zeus!
Ellie and Sophie had come with Jenny to bake Bucellate, an Easter bread that I had taken on as my tradition, following in the footsteps of my mother and Italian grandmother. The recipe is different from theirs, but the ritual of making festive bread is what counts. As I got out the bowls, one for each of the four bread makers, the girls lay on the floor next to mighty Zeus, imitating his stretched out image. Then as I prepared the yeast and added ingredients to the individual bowls, they began petting him, rubbing his soft fur, certainly dislodging a great deal of it with each stroke.
The hairs will be in the bread I thought. "Wash your hands, girls," Jenny said, " They have to be clean so you can knead the dough." Reluctantly, the girls rose up from their coddling and repaired to the bathroom to wash up. When they came to the table to mix the ingredients, Zeus followed them. His tradition was to hang around wherever there was food, hoping to have some scraps from the table. No pieces fell, but he did get a few more pats on the head from the girls, much to my chagrin since I was trying to do the process with no contamination from dog hair.
Eventually, the bread dough got mixed and kneaded the required time and was returned to the bowls for the first rise that would take about an hour. The girls went out to play in the sunny 50 degree heat that was melting the few patches of snow cover remaining from the April storm of the day before. Zeus, excited to have playmates, romped out to the stream with them. All returned within a few minutes, and then the girls, uncertain about the adults reaction, popped the question, "Can we go wading in the stream?"
My internal reaction was "Are you crazy? That water is barely above freezing!" But Jenny said "Isn't the water cold?" "No" was the reply. "We felt it and it is very warm." "I'll get some towels," I said, "but you have to be careful out there. There are a lot of rocks and stones that will hurt your feet." "We will be" was the response. Zeus stayed in, a little tired after all the romping.
The bread making progressed while they were in the stream. Jenny and I formed the risen dough into circles and prepared them for the second rising. The girls were a little disappointed to have missed that part, but after taking off their wet socks, they decided to explore the house. Zeus continued to rest.
Their youthful curiosity brought them upstairs into the alcove where they found the treasure trove. First, they brought down Bob, a big overstuffed furry cat. They talked to the stuffed animal that quickly became their friend. They held its paws as they introduced him to us, and carefully set him down, near his protector Zeus, so he could watch as they painted the egg white glaze onto the breads before baking.
"Did you find the frog?" I asked. "A frog... there's a frog!" they screamed with glee, and they thundered up the stairs. We heard stomping, and then thunder as they came down the stairs, each wearing a straw hat, a Huck Finn and Pancho, with Sophie solemnly bearing the green frog on her hat. They introduced the frog to Zeus and to us.
The house was filled with the aroma of the fresh bread, and we removed it from the oven. We decided to sample one loaf because it fell apart as we were removing it from the pan...so unfortunate. We tore it apart, little chunk by little chunk, and I realized that this was the best Bucellate that I had tasted in years, and there were no dog hairs. Zeus got his crumbs.
As they were about to leave, the adoration of Zeus began. First the girls knelt next to him and imitated his pose. Then they stroked and petted him. And finally turned to him and bowed their heads to the ground. "Hail...O great Zeus" they proclaimed.
Zeus saw them to the door. He got his obeisance, and ate his food, and then some leftovers from lunch.
In retrospect, over the past several months, I had noticed occasions when the great dog seemed to have difficulty getting his legs straight. I attributed that to the cold weather. He also snored a lot. All dogs do. And his appetite, except for treats, was waning. He had been coughing, perhaps kennel cough. Swallowing was difficult the past few weeks. He didn't run back into the house the way he used to. But that night, Holy Thursday, he had a seizure that lasted several minutes. After resting, he went outside for a few minutes, and then rested and panted for about ten minutes before he settled down to the evening sleep.
I had scheduled an appointment with the vet at 11:00 the next morning, but after going outside on his usual morning routine, the regal dog rested, and again had difficulty getting up, and over the next twenty minutes, panted. As I talked to the vet on the phone at 10:00 on Good Friday, Zeus stopped breathing. He had lived for twelve years. Ten of those years, he was the protector of my daughter Meg as she walked him on the streets of Boston and New Haven. He came to me and Dan just before the birth of Khaled, now one and a half years old. He was with me when my dear wife Phyllis passed shortly after the baby was born. And he charmed Ellie and Sophie the other day, so that he had a loving send off to reign on high. Hail Zeus!
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Redistribution of wealth
CNN Money has an article about "Foreclosures hitting a six year low" emphasizing "And it's coming at a good time as home prices rebound. 'There is unprecedented demand from institutional investors willing to pay with cash to buy at the foreclosure auction, helping to raise the value of properties with a foreclosure filing in 2013 by an average of 10% nationwide,' said Blomquist."
The winners are (no surprise) again the banks and the investors. Those who were foreclosed upon are screwed. This would be almost 500,000 people in 2013, and the over a million in each of 2012 and 2011. And I wonder how many of the million or so long time unemployed have lost their remaining life savings in this way.
What you have is an instance of a huge transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top. The foreclosures will sell at 10% or more than the foreclosure price. The banks will unload this "bad debt". Speculators will buy them at the beginning of a recovering market, and do well as they rehab a bit and resell. The folks who lost their homes will continue to plod along, having lost their most valuable possession with little hope of ever owning again.
Our millionaire congress people will continue to be on break, careless of the plight of their people. They passed a trillion dollar budget as they ignored the plight of the over a million and growing long term unempolyed. Extending unemployment costs 27 billion. The amount of fraud in the process is minuscule in comparison to the cost. Pumping 27 billion into the economy so that some folks in dire straits can invest in their families, education, and a life does not seem like too much to ask of our government.
As an offset, if that's necessary, why not raise the capital gains taxes on the 400 or so highest taxpayers who in 2007 and 2008 took a record share of capital gains during the meltdown years of the Great Recession, according to Forbes magazine. ( http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2011/05/11/richest-400-took-record-share-of-capital-gains-during-market-meltdown-year/)
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel winning economist out of Columbia University, estimates the loss in revenue to our national treasury at $30 billion over these two years when the tax rate on capital gains was first reduced to 15%. (The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz, p. 72) Talk about redistribution of wealth, social programs are among the first to be cut or mitigated by our congress. That redistribution is from the poor to the rich, rather than vice versa as some would have us believe.
It is easy to say but the rich have earned it, and the poor haven't. If society is to work for all, all should contribute as they can. This asks more of the rich, who in turn profit from a great economy, and opens the door for others to move up the social ladder. Some of us near the middle of the ladder will dismiss this by saying "I did it myself." But I say, hold on there. It was a different time, and the climate that lets you say that now is completely different. There are problems that need more attention than shifting blame to those who have lost much, if not all in the redistribution of wealth.
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