Things are gonna' slide....

Leonard Cohen couldn't have put it better. The economic crisis is a multilayered monster walled in a secretive world of biblical proportions. The relevancy of Christmas is omnipresent- given that this is the time that we all spend the most money- unneccessarily in most cases. At a time when a lot of us are revising our budgets - it may be interesting to note the true message of the season- a hsitorical perspective on humanity and reclaiming the simplicity of a pre-information age. Drawing comparisons between the great depression and the current crunch at least shows that we are aware of the complexities of unbridled capitalism and the rise of fascism in the 1930s. The collective memory of the suffering of these times and the onset of obscene political notions - tyrannical control - derived from what Barrington Moore defines as a distinct culture in landlocked Europe - at least allows some anxiety about the moral message of regulated capitalism preventing the onset of such cultural conditions. The message of Christmas is of one of taking stock - for me- to reevaluate the structures that bind us together and not be afraid to challenge the forces that threaten to compromise our very existence- and the continuance of humanity. Let us not forget that Jesus was a great revolutionary force- and the message is - that from beyond the grave - good triumphed.