It Really is a Wonderful Life

Donna Reed, Jimmy Stewart and Karolyn Grimes

We attended last weekend’s It’s a Wonderful Life Festival in Seneca Falls.  I can’t recall a holiday season when we didn’t watch the 1945 Frank Capra classic.  So, it seemed obligatory that we would attend at least once.  Naturally, we tracked down Karolyn Grimes, the child actress who played Zuzu, the youngest of the Bailey children.  We took a picture together and I bought a photo which she autographed for me.

“Do you want me to address it to someone or just sign it?” she asked with pen poised.  When I hesitated before answering, she added “it’s worth more with just my autograph.”  

What? I’ll never sell it.  And, who would want it?  Isn’t the movie an idealized version of a time gone by?  A time that older Boomers remember and that is now dismissed as hopelessly old-fashioned and irrelevant?  Well, yes, it is.  And it is also much more than that.  It’s a Wonderful Life is a story about how each of us can have a positive impact on the community in which we live.  It’s also a story about the sacrifices we make to live according to our values.  

Many people decry the commercialization of Christmas.  And, it’s true that most of us spend more time and energy on gifts, decorations and holiday celebrations than spiritual pursuits.  But even as the celebration of Christmas has become more about gifts and festivities than the birth of Jesus Christ, it has never strayed from a celebration of the human values taught by Christ.  The United Nations took the time to delineate those values in in 1948.  In thirty articles, it articulates our right to equal treatment before the law; to the life liberty and security; and, to freedom of thought and conscience.  

 

Karolyn (Zuzu) Grimes

It’s a masterpiece that was deemed essential in the wake of two world wars separated by a global economic depression.  But it doesn’t bring the message home in the same way as George Bailey does.  It’s a Wonderful Life is a story about the reciprocal obligations of communities.  It’s a demonstration how loyalty, fairness and caring work in real life.  These values are cherished by people around the world whether they are Christian, Jewish or Muslim.  They form the basis for successful communities in nations that are prosperous and those that are not; among the wealthy, the poor and the middle-class; and by people of all races.  The reciprocal obligations of our communities transcend our political, religious and cultural differences.  

The Baileys are heroes because they place those obligations above all others including their own financial success and, also, because we see the sacrifices they make in their endeavors.  So, I think the movie will remain relevant long after we Boomers have gone on to our reward.  And, no, Zuzu’s picture is not for sale.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

My Self the Elf!

Growing up, my kids referred to me as the Grinch, egged on by my wife of course.  No doubt this arose from my muttering and swearing as I climbed too high, leaned over too far and eventually strung those tiny, white lights over our tree and around our front door.  Making fun of Dad was, and still is, great fun for all of them and I play along pretending to be put upon.  It gets me into the holiday spirit somehow.

In western society, there is a common bond that is best expressed and celebrated this time of year.  Responding to a blog post titled “How Non-Christians Deal with Christmas”, an Indian-American immigrant named Safiq Ali Patel said, “I come from a mixed Muslim, Christian and Jewish family. I celebrate Christmas because I like the theme of love, peace, joy and goodwill to ALL men. God didn't come to earth just for Christians...”

What is it that inspires a Muslim, Christian, Jewish immigrant to embrace the spirit of love, peace, joy and goodwill to ALL men? 

The Christian values of tolerance and love for our fellow man are powerfully attractive to Christians and non-Christians alike.  People of all faiths can embrace the annual celebration of Christmas. People respond to the sense of charity, love and forgiveness espoused by Jesus Christ because those values and the emotion we attach to them are fundamental to us as human beings.  

At this time of year, it is somehow allowable to disregard the boundaries that usually prevent us from the human connection we crave.  We disregard our normal routines.  We bake cookies for our co-workers.  We buy gifts for those we love even when we have no idea what they’d like.  And, we gather with friends and family to eat food not on our usual diet and drink more than we should.  It’s a time when we act on our charitable instincts and become, if only for a few weeks, our better selves.

As for me, the Grinch, I recently took one of those silly Facebook quizzes, “What Christmas movie character are you?”  The answer for me:  Buddy, the Will Ferrell character in the movie “Elf.”

I plan to own it.  The Grinch is dead.  Long live Buddy the Elf!

Are we celebrating Christmas or celebrating our humanity?

Among my parents best friends when I was growing up were the Jewish family across the street. 

There was a running joke about the “Hanukah Bush” they put up every year at Christmas time.  I didn’t quite get the joke at the time; but it was clear that our Jewish friends were celebrating Christmas.

One might wonder what Christmas means in a secular society?  And, what did it mean to our friends who weren’t Christians?

In western society, there is a common bond that is best expressed and best celebrated at this time of year.  Responding to a blog post titled “How Non-Christians Deal with Christmas”, a reader named Safiq Ali Patel said, “I come from a mixed Muslim, Christian and Jewish family. I celebrate Christmas because I like the theme of love, peace, joy and goodwill to ALL men. God didn't come to earth just for Christians...”

Mr. Patel expresses the best of the western Christian tradition, a tradition expressed in terms of “humanism”, a philosophy that emphasizes the value of people both individually and collectively.  The tenets of humanism can be traced to the ancient Greek philosophers and they re-emerge throughout history. 

Many associate humanist philosophy with atheism but it might better be associated with separation of church and state.  Persecution of those who do not embrace the religion sponsored by the state has resulted in the death and torture of thousands throughout history.  During the Spanish Inquisition, Tomas de Torquemada, the inquisitor-general, is said to have executed over 2000 Spaniards.  Ironically, this was done in the name of Christianity.

The modern interpretation of humanism is “human rights”, a set of principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.  These concepts are powerfully attractive, not only to us in the West but also, to people the world over. The concept of self-rule, championed by Jefferson and Voltaire, is fundamental to the Arab Spring.  Although European in concept, these ideas now form the basis on which the international community judges nations. 

The Christian values of tolerance and love for our fellow man are powerfully attractive to Christians and non-Christians alike.  People of all faiths can embrace the annual celebration of Christmas.  People respond to the sense of charity, love and forgiveness espoused by Jesus Christ because those values and the emotion we attach to them are fundamental to us as human beings.  

The angel who announced the birth of Christ to the world said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people….”

All people…