| EQI.org Home | Society X-Mas Today is Dec 25, 2011 according to the callendar system I was taught to use. I say that mostly becaue I was told the other day that the people who calll themselfves Muslims don't use the same calendar system as the people who call themselves Christians. But most of you know what I am talking about when I say xmas. Also known as "Christmas." I don't want to write a lot about this day, tradition, etc. So I will make a few notes. - I like being in Muslim countries around this time of the year. It is less annoying. They don't play as many "Christmas songs" in the stores for example, and less people say "Merry Christmas." - Christmas is not a "merry" time for me. It reminds me of Christians, materialism, extreme waste - wrapping paper, lights, electricity, toys... It reminds me of the killing and destruction done by the American government. It reminds me that most people working and paying taxes in America don't realize what they are part of, what they are contributing to and supporting with their money and work, and that most young pepole are being "socialized" or brainwashed into believing the majority of the standard myths or lies or "beliefs" - whatever you want to call them. - So far in Malaysia just a few people, 3 or 4, have said "Merry Christmas" to me. I feel obligated to say it back or at least thank youi since I understand they are trying to be friendly. It hurts me though to know that they would be surprised and confused about the things I say about America and the American culture. It is easier to just say "thank you" than to start in on giving them a lecture on why I don't celebrate xmas, why I don't want anything to do with it, why I dislike Christinas and other religions, etc. - I did tell a group of 5 university students a few things about how I felt and why. I am afraid they felt a bit trapped to listen to me. It was an interesting 20 or so minutes we spent together. I might write about it somewhere later. Maybe in my journal writing for today. - One year I was telling people "Happy Corporate Days" instead of "Merry Christmas" - I believe it is offensive to be celebrating Christmas in the USA when the American government has hurt as many people as they have, both inside the country and outside. That is why I wrote that Christmas music sometimes makes me think of how it would feel to Jews in a concentration camp, listening to German cultural music while their German guards were drinking, laughing and dancing ... and how it would feel years later to hear those same German songs again and to see swastikas. America and German in the 40's are not that different to me. In some ways I believe the American culture is actually worse because German culture has not been spread around the world since then thru movies, music, news, and language. Unless you have travelled a lot, you can't really understand how much what I call the cancer of American culture is spreading around the world. And, unlike with the Nazis, the majority of the people don't see what is happening as a horrible thing. But my partner and I predict that one day history will compare the American culture to the Nazis, and it will show that just as I believe, the American culture will be considered worse for humanity. Yet this could change. The Americans themselves could "wake up", as Marilyn Ferguson suggested in her book "The Aquarian Conspiricy." Looking at some quotes from that book has helped me feel a bit more optimistic. She talks about a "paradigm shift." But it hasn't really happened yet. But it could and I hope that I am contributing to it. S. Hein
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