'Tis the Season to Be Jolly?
My thoughts on the first day of Advent.
Today’s the first day of Advent. Already stores are brimming and bursting from floor to ceiling, and have been since Hallowe’en, with sparkly, glittery Christmas decorations and goodies, goodies and more goodies galore. As of this US Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Black Friday sales have opened the gift-hunting season. But what is there to be jolly, merry, and joyful about this year?
The out-going Biden administration is certainly in a jolly, merry mood toward Israel despite Christmas not being a Jewish celebration. (But since when does religion matter in politics?) A $680 million arms sale package was announced on November 28, the very same day that the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect. Such abundant generosity on top of the $17.5 billion in military aid already gifted to Israel since October 2023 might seem a bit like giving a tub of sweets to someone who’s decided to go on a crash diet. (We all know how crash diets go.1) Santa had better have enough elves on hand to do all the gift-wrapping and stocking-stuffing and rent a few aircraft carriers to deliver everything on time because a sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer are not going to do the job even with Rudolf and his red nose leading.
The true spirit of Christmas, as we all know, is not just about giving generously; it’s about spreading peace and goodwill. And there’s no shortage of goodwill going Israel’s way.
Immediately following the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on November 21, President Biden condemned the court’s actions as outrageous, and vowed to always stand with Israel. In response, Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham were just bubbling over with Christmas spirit. In a Christmas card greeting on X, Cotton called the ICC “a kangaroo court” and Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan “a deranged fanatic”, and reminded him of the existence of The Hague Invasions Act. Just as kindly, Graham threatened sanctions against any US ally that had the “temerity to suggest that they would uphold the warrants”, going so far as to suggest that the US “should crush their economies”. I can almost hear him singing Joy to the World, can’t you?
It didn’t take long, of course, for the Christmas choir to start forming, led by France’s declaring Netanyahu and Gallant immune from international arrest. Italy is looking to follow France and, although Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is “examining” how to respond to the ICC arrest warrants, the second most generous supplier of weapons to Israel will probably not want to be left out. I bet Baerbock is already practising the high notes in “Silent Night”. Hungary’s Victor Orban said he would invite Netanyahu for a visit (complete with traditional Hungarian sweets?) and defy the warrants. So far, the UK’s David Lammy is still sticking to the law, but I bet a seasoned human rights lawyer like PM Sir Keir Starmer can circumvent the problem. The big question is once the choir’s in their gowns, will the Christmas concert open with “We Three Kings” or “Oh, Come All Ye Faithful”?
Not to be left off the Christmas Gift List is Ukraine. While President Biden is seeking another $24 billion in military aid, goodwill abounds in a senior official’s announcement on November 28 that the out-going administration wants Ukraine to start drafting 18 to 25 year-olds “to expand the current pool of fighting-age males.” Not to play the Grinch, National Security advisor Jake Sullivan offered the following sentiments on a PBS News Hour program:
Our view has been that there’s not one weapon system that makes a difference in this battle. It’s about manpower, and Ukraine needs to do more, in our view, to firm up its lines in terms of the number of forces it has on the front lines.”
No Scrooge himself, Senator Lindsey Graham expressed his thoughts that anyone between 18 and 25 should be out there fighting for his life. After all, why would Ukrainian parents want their young, healthy sons lounging about at home and filling their faces over Christmas when they could be sent into a meat grinder and slaughtered in the name of a lost cause!
With all this pre-Christmas gift giving, it looks like there’ll be nothing left for the hungry, the homeless, the poor, the needy, the sick, the disabled, the elderly, the unemployed this year. But then, I guess, our politicians have bigger chestnuts to roast by the fire. And just wait until our fine Christian leaders broadcast their annual “peace, brotherly love and goodwill” messages! The naked hypocrisy will be enough to take all the jolly, merry and joyful out of Christmas, if it doesn’t make you woof your shortbread cookies and hurl your eggnog!
What can I say but, “Ho, ho, ho!”
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Can’t think of what to give a close friend or family member for Christmas?
Wouldn’t you know, the day after the ceasefire was negotiated, the Israeli air force struck a Hezbollah facility in southern Lebanon. Since then both sides have accused each other of several violations.
Diane, I hear -- and share -- your rage.
And all those dead people who can't celebrate whatever they celebrate this time of year breaks my heart. And the homeless, hungry and just too damned poor and demoralized to give a damn.
Take care, and I hope you're able to get through the hypocrisy of this crass, gaudy season.
Being among those who are too poor to pay attention, the irony of your sarcasm is not falling on deaf ears. We have gone so far beyond the pathological spy-op's propaganda to eventually returning full circle to the reality of street theater "in your face" hypocrisy beyond the pale of the independent thinker.