7 Days until Christmas. 8 Days
until we're bombarded with reminders of what 2017 brought. Certainly no "Peace on earth nor "Good Will toward Men. "Retrospects" of the year’s events will abound, and for most
Americans the pictures won’t be pretty.
This week may be a time for people to slow down, look inward, meditate before the onslaught of memories of the year. This is especially true for people in the LGBTQ, Muslim, immigrant, Hispanic and African American Communities. Actually for people in any vulnerable group. And the Year of Trump has created a lot of vulnerable communities.
“Peace on Earth”? "Good Will Towards Men”? These Americans have to make their own Christmas sentiments because they cannot in all conscience join Trump's America for Christmas.
To be more direct: There is
absolutely no way one could link those phrases to a Trump Christmas. From before last Christmas, when Trump almost single-handedly erased 50 years of U.S.- China relations with a diplomatic blunder worthy of Dan Quayle. Peace on earth? ...
through internal bickering and
firings. petty tweets, lies and deceit, to an air thick with treason and corruption polluting the Presidency- Good will
towards men?
This Presidency, this
political aberration is a mockery to Christmas and the true Christmas spirit.(
Link to old article)
Of course, Christmas is
bright- for the gullible and believers in Trump’s fantasy. For the Alt Right
and White supremicists who’ve never such a forceful “voice” befor. For the
Christian Right who envision abortion and gay rights fading from their worldview/Christofascist spectrum of self-righteousness.
For all others, the
brightness, the joy, the altruism of Christmas must be scaled back, must go
inward, must be more quiet. Yes, it must recede into its own shell so that it can emerge clear and bright (and even a bit tacky/glittery) in the New Year.
My husband stand and I believe
in what you might call “snuggle therapy”: we hold our bodies close and together
for a long time and sometimes we whisper “you and me against the world”. We
wanted our Christmas angel-bear tree ornaments to reflect snuggling instead of
kissing, but it would have been difficult to position them on the
tree without looking like they were doing something else. But notice that they are definitely focusing on each other while engulfed in the glitz of what could be a metaphor for a Trump Christmas.
Maybe American communities need a form of "snuggle therapy" this Christmas: holding themselves closer, quieter. Sheltering themselves. Observing (but not necessarily participating in) the raucous - and fake - Trump Christmas. Meditating upon the past year.
Healing.
While meditating on 2017, HOPE should still be an element. Many of Trump's supporters are finally waking up to the fact that Trump and his administration are nothing like what they thought it would be. HOPE has always been a powerful coping mechanism. In my case, for example, it can divert the angst over the year with some humor, so here's my Christmas wish for 2018:
Since Trump has decreed that there will be more visits to the Moon - "What would we do without space?" - what better Christmas present for him next year than to make him the first person to colonize it? With an attractive plan to build a hotel/casino/golf course and, of course, a boutique for Ivanka, he would make a killing!
And the sweetest thing about this gift: we could send The Donald off with a blessing:
"May God bless and keep you, Mr. President -far away from us!*
7 DAYS
This week, individuals, families, whole communities should practice their forms of "snuggle therapy" by being as close to each other as possible. And safe, for the time being, from the onslaught of "retrospectives" and thoughts of more ugly scenes to come.
This following video Christmas card was produced primarily for the immediate neighborhood and friends, featuring a Garden everyone views as a community-builder. From the Meditation Station to the acrylic rock heart, it is looked upon as a sanctuary - a place of peace and reflection. It represents the Christmas spirit all year round. It is our building;s "snuggle therapy." Notice that the Christmas tree is lacking a star on top - that's because the true light of Christmas comes from within.
It serves as my Christmas card to everyone.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
* a line borrowed from Fiddler on the Roof the story of which has some odd parallels to our present situation.
