Badger Benson

Posts Tagged ‘Hope’

As we study “A Christmas Carol” each Friday night I have also been posting little updates each day on Facebook. Everyone seems to enjoy them. Here is the entire list so far.

11/18 The term "Carol" we use for any Christmas song. But Dickens was using the context of his time, a carol meant a song celebrating the birth of Christ. Thus he divides the book into "staves" instead of chapters. A stave is a stanza of a song.

11/19 The colloquial word "scrooge" means "to squeeze". Dickens point to use it as a name is to underscore his main character’s primary sin: greed.

11/20 Scrooge’s catchphrase "bah humbug" was the common term for non-sense. We think of him saying it a lot. Actually it is said very little in the story, and even by the end of Stave One he can barely get it out, as one of the first signs of transformation, and it’s never said again in the remaining four staves.

11/21 Marley’s death is "7 years ago this night" (Christmas Eve). 7 often seen as a Holy number. Also we celebrate Christ’s birth on Christmas Day. The implication is that Marley never knew Christ in life; and foreshadowing a rebirth for Scrooge.

11/22 Note that the first two spirits appear accompanied by light, but the third arrives shrouded in darkness.

11/23 Marley appears to Scrooge as "still agitated by the hot vapor from an oven", an obvious reference to hell.

11/24 Now in Stave Two: "He resolved to lie awake until the hour was past; and considering he could no more go to sleep than go to Heaven." Dickens gives a dual purpose with the words in Carol many times, this being one example.

11/25 "It is required of every man," returned the Ghost, "That the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world-oh, woe is me! And witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!" Dickens was having Marley speak of the Great Commission.

11/26 Scrooge is so consumed by money at start of Stave 2 that if the sun were blotted out his biggest concern is that people who owe him money will not be able to count the days to pay him in a timely manner. Two purposes in this: The extent of his greedy nature; and also the blindness of those who live in spiritual darkness even when surrounded by light.

11/27 The appearance of Ghost of Christmas Past is based on the German character the Christkind – according to legend was a heavenly messenger said to have announced the birth of Christ. Other stories say it is a child who brought gifts to infant Jesus. In parts of Germany and other countries it is this character who brings children their toys on Christmas and not Santa Claus.

11/28 "Good Heaven!" says Scrooge. A notable change early in Stave 2 from his earlier "Bah Humbug!"

11/29 When the First Spirit says he is there for Scrooge’s welfare, the worldly minded miser thinks of his physical well-being, causing the Spirit to clarify it is "reclamation", emphasizing a spiritual rehabilitation.

11/30 "It would have been in vain for Scrooge to plead that the weather and the hour were not adapted to pedestrian purposes; that bed was warm, and the thermometer a long way below freezing; that he was clad but lightly in his slippers, dressing-gown, and nightcap; and that he had a cold upon him at the time." Dickens seems to satirize a list of excuses for not following the spirit. In our own lives we might compare this to a cold Sunday morning when we’d rather stay in bed than go to church.

12/1 Pencast (Bad Link) Something new today! "Scroogie" via Pencast. Today the Ghost takes Scrooge to his past, the scene at the schoolhouse. "The school is not quite deserted," said the Ghost. "A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still." Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed. What we do effects others – and can have a lasting effect for a long time. Be mindful of your treatment of others.

12/4 Pencast (Bad Link)

12/5 "Nothing," said Scrooge. "Nothing. There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should have liked to have given him something: that’s all." His first pang of regret in the story. We must regret before we can experience repentance.

12/6 More family issues with this one. In Stave Two we see how much Scrooge loved his sister (Fan), compared to Stave One where we see he has not loved his nephew (Fred), nor has he loved his neighbors for that matter.

12/7 Charity is presented several times in Carol. Christmas Past takes Scrooge to his beloved old boss Fezziwig. In act of charity Fezzi closes shop early on Christmas Eve and hosts a festive party which young Scrooge enjoys. Compared to the Scrooge of the present who displays little charity to his employee and in fact would like for Cratchit to work on Christmas Day.

12/8 Pencast (Bad Link) Trying to fix that still.

12/9 Less in meaning today, but some good trivia. Mince Pie is served at Fezziwig’s party. Traditionally the pie must contain 3 spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) to represent 3 gifts of the Magi. Also the traditional pies of Dickens time were often made in oblong shape to resemble the manger. The baker would often make a flat space on the top shaped like a star on which would set a Christ-child figurine. (Strange I know!)

12/10 Christmas Past shows the sad conversation between Belle and Scrooge before they part ways. "It matters little. Another idol has displaced me." Belle criticizes him for trading allegiance to sacred love for a sacrilegious one. Dickens makes another biblical reference here, Exodus 32 and the "golden calf".

12/11 At the end of Stave 2. "He turned upon the Ghost, and seeing that it looked upon him with a face, in which in some strange way there were fragments of all the faces it had shown him, wrestled with it." Scrooge wrestling with the spirit recalls Jacob wrestling in Genesis 32. In both cases a spiritual being chastises a man for past sins, the man wrestles with the spirit as he tries to secure favor, and the spirit is overcome.

12/12 Now starting Stave Three. Dickens used white as the color of the first spirit. The second comes in green. This wasn’t just because it’s a color associated with Christmas. Dickens chose green because it was the symbolic color of growth. Further reflecting Scrooge’s transformation.

I live in a place where Creativity runs wild at the confluence of the rivers Innovation and Information. Their waters flow Wild and Free providing this Great Land a Precious Resource. A ship named Cutting Edge flying the flag of Tradition sails down those rivers to dock here. She takes boxes of Truth produced in our Factories for Export to lands outside.

Those waters also feed the Roots that run deep in the soil here. The magnificent trees, green grass, and crops are fertilized with Blood and Sweat, providing us a bountiful harvest. Our Farms are the best and the Backbone of the Society. We enjoy the Fruits of our Labor and any Surplus is sent out on rail via the Work Ethic line. We keep our city, land and water Beautiful and Clean because we know we are Blessed. We Recognize those blessings and our Dreams and Toil in a Celebration of Thanksgiving each year. Every year we also mark our Founding and Independence  with fireworks and much rejoice!

The Citizens make a living through Responsibility and are kept updated by the local paper named Freedom of Speech. The crime rate is low because the People exercise their Right to Keep and Bear Arms. People Worship as they please. Our bank operates by Free and Fair Trade. Our Business people travel the skies above on a plane named Vision. Our Communications allow us to be more connected to each other than of anywhere beyond our walls. Our scientists are sought world around for their Inventions and contributions to Technology. Our artists are the best and most imitated because they Inspire us. Our doctors are the best and most accessible for they are allowed to practice simply because they Care. Our poor and sick receive Charity as needed, but are not allowed to accept discomfort for long. We pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and charge into any Challenge. We respect and value the Individual. Their Hope is in God, the future and our people. Our Leaders govern through Our Consent with Honor and Duty. They govern the most Diverse populous ever known. All are Created Equal and Our Rights are recognized and not infringed upon, nor abused, because we hold true to Justice that says we are Innocent until Proven Guilty.

Our children are Educated in a building named Heritage. Our city’s Foundation is built on Family. We strive for Peace but we will Protect our Rights, Way of Life and Defend the Weak. We are not afraid to express our Strength and Might. Our Soldiers and Law Enforcement act when needed, armed with Bravery and Courage. We Remember and Respect our Veterans and Fallen. The walls around us form a fortress called Faith. We are loved and loathed for everything inside those walls.

In our Pursuit of Happiness we became blind. Our Industrious ways led to a lifestyle of excessive leisure lacking real relaxation and recreation, but rather sloth and apathy became the norm. We neglected our God given responsibilities and rights. We allowed the destruction of all we built, our school, voting booth, workplace, media, and even our church, allowing traitors, looters, liars and laziness to make it over the top, from underground, and even walking right through our gates circumventing our city in a hostile takeover.

Now we are awaken and they shall not advance any further, they will not be allowed to burn this City of Liberty to the ground, they will not be allowed to turn what we built into ashes and ruble, they will not destroy us from outside or within, they will not rule us because we value Life. Our Monuments and Symbols stand tall and proud and we will fight for what they stand for. We Believe in a Higher Power, in each other, and what we have built. Our Way of Life will not be transformed or destroyed like the ruins of the failure that liter the past.

We have learned from history and we know what we need to do now to protect the next Generation. The Future is up for grabs. We have the right to it, they do not, it is not theirs to take. Work needs to be done. Roll up your sleeves. We need all prayers. Your voice needs heard. We need your thought and hand. The Great Restoration has began.  -Brandon James Benson

Article found via Drudge.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/niteside/Shepard-Fairey-on-Obamas-Progress-Hes-Limited-By-the-Two-Party-System-92073079.html

Interesting short read about the displeasure of Obama’s performance expressed from the artist of the “Hope” poster. I find it very ironic and a bit humorous.