Local Opinion: Take a lesson from Scrooge

Everyone has different traditions around the December holidays. For most, it is a heightened sense of wellness and generosity. A time for giving.

Our tradition around Christmas is to watch the same two marvelous movies at home. On Christmas Eve we watch “A Christmas Story.” It strikes an especially nostalgic, familiar tone for those raised in the 1950s. A little boy, Ralphie, wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas, but is warned that it will “shoot his eye out.” There are the overwhelmed parents, the malfunctioning furnace, the neighbor’s marauding hound dogs, the tongue stuck to the pole. Then there are the bullies, Lifebuoy soap in Ralphie’s mouth after a flat tire incident, a disgruntled Santa, Little Orphan Annie, and the leg lamp, giving off the “soft glow of electric sex.” Finally, Christmas morning comes with Bing Crosby on the radio, a bowling ball dropped into the Old Man’s lap, and Ralphie’s gun with which he almost shoots his eye out. Every scene is classic.

On Christmas Day, we watch another movie after the presents are unwrapped. It is “A Christmas Carol” with George C. Scott as Scrooge. Scott perfectly portrays the sour, parsimonious, unyielding man who cares only about his shillings at the exclusion of humanity. Only one small lump of coal heats his dark, cold place of business, illuminated by two candles. Christmas, to him, is “Humbug.”

The chained ghost of his deceased former partner, Marley, visits Scrooge on Christmas Eve. Marley informs Scrooge that he will be visited in the night by three spirits. The first two show him how his life has been and could have been. The third spirit has Scrooge convinced that he has died. When he awakens from that nightmare, his relief at being alive is joyously unrestrained. His realization is inspirational. He casts aside all bitterness and darkness, allowing the light to shine from within. He becomes a man of generosity and pleasant interaction with all. He promises assistance to the poor and visits an unsuspecting nephew and his family. After pretending to aggressively chastise his lone beleaguered employee, Bob Cratchit, for being late, Scrooge happily doubles his salary. That is followed by joy and goodwill toward Cratchit and his family. He becomes a man who knows how to keep Christmas.

Everyone on earth should watch Scott’s Scrooge performance during the last 20 minutes of the movie, if nothing else. It could be life-changing. It is too easy to fall victim to greed, resentment and self-interest in our lives. We know, or should know, that compassion, generosity of spirit and love is what we all should seek. Think of how uplifting simple acts of kindness and release from burdensome emotions could change the world. We cannot expect everyone to act accordingly, but we can do our individual parts to see whether positive humanitarian actions can result in peace and harmony. We can contribute to local food banks, help a neighbor or someone at a store, pay a sincere compliment, call a friend you have not contacted for a while. Anything to make someone’s life better even for a short time.

Should we engage in kindness, generosity and understanding, or should we yield to the worst aspects of human nature? We have a choice, but it seems that the release of what burdens us and others is an easy one.

The Scrooge performance is all about starting over. As ingrained as were his negative, destructive aspects, he was able to make a life-affirming change. With the New Year of 2023 upon us, it is the ideal opportunity for us to do the same. New Year resolutions usually last only for a short time, but resolving to help make the world a better place should be longer lasting and more rewarding. We can make a difference for ourselves and those in our lives.