Maybe Scrooge, for the wrong reasons, did have something in his use of ‘ Humbug’. It powerfully expressed the utter disdain he had. Sadly for Scrooge, it was the opposite of who and what he should have had disdain for. However, it was that contemptuous snarl that this writer remembers in my mind’s eye. Of course, that look and that snarl need be followed by the utterly appropriate ‘ Humbug!!’
Christmas should NOT be reserved for the time we give thanks for all we have, and who we have. Yes, as a spiritual practice it is important to keep humility preserved in our dealings with others. What should be more paramount is the need and the goal to say ‘ Enough is enough’ to all the Super Rich. ‘ Humbug’ to all those who make tons of money off of our backs… and our wallets. Imagine, we have become The Gilded Age ( 1870-1900 ) on steroids and so few of us working stiffs even realize it. No, on the contrary, they accept it! Think about this: Many of those televangelists you can channel surf are raking in $ millions each from sometimes as little as $5 and $10 donations. They fill their finely adorned chapels with crowds of worshippers… many who are struggling to stay financially afloat. These men and women are impeccably dressed and jeweled way beyond my pay scale. Ditto for this new Trump Reset phenomena. He is raking in $millions for what he says are for funds to keep contesting the election. We know better, now don’t we? The slice of that 74 million people who voted for him still send in the cash, hang his Trump flags and keep the yard signs and bumper stickers visible. The Trump family and their super rich friends live literally like Kings and Queens, while many of his supporters don’t have more than a pot to piss in. The connection that Trump and Pence et all have with those televangelists , well first off their expensive attire and jewelry; then their ‘ Family Values’ BS, then disdain for gays, and finally the Big Kahuna: Abortion. I say ‘ Humbug’!!
Let’s talk about Outrage. This writer is not just outraged by the aforementioned. My outrage vibrates each time I have to watch the boob tube. The preponderance of Big Pharma commercials pushing a litany of drugs soaking in side effects that, in some cases, are worse than the actual conditions they are treating. Don’t you just love it when they shrewdly use the human interest approach? This is not just for the drug commercials… but ALL commercials nowadays. It is as if they just know that the suckers are sitting there, like with the phony televangelists and hypocrite politicians ( and mainstream media whores ), ready to get teary eyed from their rhetoric. You see, deep inside the overwhelming majority of us there is a longing to belong to something greater than ourselves. Isn’t that what religions are all about? Well, commerce, politics and religion all prey upon that aspect of Everyman. The $1000 suited preachers and politicians, along with the super rich captains of industry become like Gods to the mere proletariat class, meaning YOU and ME.
A scene from the great Claude Berri’s film Germinal ( 1993) says it all. In the film, set in mid 19th century France in a coal mining region, the miners are ready to strike. Conditions are similar to all capitalist run segments of industry: Shitty! So, a group of the miners is chosen to go and speak with the owner of the mines. They show up at his manor estate, ready to, in their minds, to negotiate better conditions and wages. The handful of them are escorted into the den where he awaits them. The owner, lord of the manor, sits behind his desk as they enter. He never gets up to greet them, just sits there. The group then takes their hats off in reverence to this man, and almost seem to genuflect before him. The power of this one scene spoke volumes! Of course, they got NO positive results from their visit… only firm resolve from the owner IF they dared to strike. Anyone out there still think there is little or no need for unions?
I could write a book on all the outrages this Humbug socialist feels. How about the corporate mantra, from ALL the many commercials thrown at us, that they ‘ Care about us’? They drum it into our heads, like the way our politicians do, that they ‘ Feel our pain’ and are only here to ‘ Help Us’. Imagine the utter gall when credit card companies charge many of us 25% interest when the current prime rate is at 3+ %. Where in the hell are our ‘ Caring ‘ politicians, of either of the two phony parties, who sit on the Banking and Finance Committees? This crime has been going on for generations! Humbug! Now we have the so called CARES ACT 2 that is supposed to stop the bleeding. Why won’t this corrupt Two Party /One Party scam institute the only immediate action to help us working stiffs: A Universal Basic Income of anywhere from $1200 to $2000 a month for all citizens, with half as much for our children? The real outrage is that such an action, done for at least the whole of 2021 ( I say do it forever by the way) would really stimulate this economy and save hundreds of millions of us from financial ruin. Humbug!
Philip A Farruggio is a contributing editor for The Greanville Post. He is also frequently posted on Global Research, Nation of Change, Countercurrents.org, and Off Guardian sites. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 400 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the ‘ It’s the Empire… Stupid ‘ radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at [email protected].
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