And a happy wotsit to you too

Independent Online Edition > Americas

This link points to one of many articles on a new dilemma for Bush. For once, he has mercifully taken a secular approach to the party season and upset his evangelical constituency in the process. Somehow it's not quite as laughable as it should be.

Even if you believe in christian mythology, history has it that the so-called messiah was actually born in October and the celebration of his birth was shifted way back in the dark ages to accomodate and ultimately subvert the traditional festival of Yuletide. The lie has prevailed as an institution in the annual rhythm of western society, these days used as a last-ditch attempt to bolster the consumer economy for the year's end. Were it a solely religious festival, I suspect it would generate little interest in the modern world.

The lie in our calender is all the more absurd given that the calender itself uses the death of the same character as it's starting point. When we refer to the date, it is an arbitary notion derived from centuries-long habit. It is easy to forget that completely different calenders are still used in other parts of the world - especially the middle-east where so much contemporary conflict is focused. As we absent-mindedly follow the routines embedded in our calender, we are subconsciously imposing its dictates on the rest of the planet. It has become an imperial definition of time, a callous imposition of out-dated theology and a cold-blooded marketing tool for the armies of consumerism.

Everyone strives to have faith in themselves. We also look to have faith in others - be they individuals or organisations. Even governments. It is when that faith fails that the vampires of organised religion descend to corrupt self-determination and rally us to the cause of their own agendas. Sucessive political generations of recent times have failed in the faith we put in them to manage our communities, our nations and our planet itself. Hence the re-ascendency of crusading Christianity and militant Islam. Worst of all, our leaders themselves then start to subscribe to the the same regressive tendencies that are infecting the population at large.

For once, Bush may have done the right thing - albeit accidently and for all the wrong reasons. It remains to be seen whether he'll drink himself into a black hole by the time the season is over. Especially as his own "flock" are increasingly losing their own faith in him.

Later.