By Tom Briggs
During the holiday season, I found myself watching, yet again, "A Christmas Carol" on television. This has become an annual ritual for me. I like to think of it as a means of rekindling the Christmas spirit.
It's also a counter measure to the irritating electronic holiday songs embedded in equally irritating plastic Santas etc., a commercial assault on the American public and myself.
This was the George C. Scott version. I was especially moved by the "Ghost of Christmas Present" scene where Scrooge is whisked off to one of London's slums. Here he is forced to observe as a ragged and destitute family huddles pitifully around a fire, a gaunt child baking a single potato on a stick. The wife implores her husband to seek refuge for the family in a workhouse, as she senses the imminency of the family's demise. The husband angrily refuses and replies that they would all be better off dead than to face the ignominy of life in a workhouse.
This scene brought to life the despair that gripped the poor in Europe during the first half of the 19th century. It also reflected Dickens' strong opposition to the brutal and insidious industrial capitalism that ruled the British economy at that time. It reminded me, as I sat there in the comfort of my heated home, complete with snoring dog and reclining chair, that I have no real understanding of the trauma that besets people who are subjected to the effects of severe poverty.
How could I? I, along with hundreds of millions of others, find myself regularly retreating to the "cocoon" to wallow in the safety, comfort and mindless indifference that now characterizes life in contemporary civilized society.
Well, isn't this what we've all aspired to? Didn't we learn from childhood games like "fox and geese" that our goal was to seek "safe zones" where we would be able to enjoy life without fear of "bad things" happening to us?
Aren't we now, now that we have located protected and comfortable places to live, "feathering our nests" with furnishings, fancy electronics and other trappings that will allow us to lighten up so that we might fully enjoy the distractions that we have surrounded ourselves with?
Many seniors, as well, appear to have retreated to the hearth (and television) in greater and greater numbers. Twenty years ago for instance, less than half of the diners in our senior meals program were receiving home-delivered meals. Today almost 70 percent are having their meals delivered.
Don't get me wrong, many people through no fault of their own have developed chronic conditions that have forced them to become home-bound "¦ or at least have caused them to think that it is unsafe for them to venture out from their homes.
I just feel that maybe our culture has overplayed the idea that our physical safety must always pre-empt our need to keep in contact with the mainstream.
Many of my fellow baby boomers appear to agree. I was reading an article recently that referenced the downturn in interest in independent living communities and assisted-living housing (Smith and Malden). It seems that at some point, the more responsibility-relieving amenities available for prospective residents, the less they are attracted to that model. I hope that this is the case. Why should we feel that an obligation-free retirement life is a worthy reward befitting our years of punching a time clock?
This same article focused on the trend toward "purpose driven communities" (Kay Van Norman). It addressed people's need to be of value to others and their need for continued growth and contribution. The author sites our natural quest to be immersed in an environment of hope, of self-efficacy and resiliency. This is not easily achieved while lying semi-prostrate in a La-Z-Boy with a TV remote in one hand and a bag of popcorn in the other. To experience the substance of our humanity, shouldn't we avoid the lure of the den while we are still physically able to do so?
In this country, we're unlikely to see a family on the brink of starvation like that portrayed by Dickens in another time and place.
Yet now with unemployment hovering above 10 percent, 1 in 4 American children suffer from malnutrition. In other places it's much more serious, even deadly. While we made merry during the 12 days of Christmas, 192,000 children in developing nations died from nutrition related diseases.
It's not my intention to throw a damper on how we celebrate the holidays or to shame people for failing to have been sufficiently charitable during this time.
I do feel, however, that embracing Dickens' message of love, hope and charity can offer us the opportunity to see ourselves in a more positive light.
This can only happen, though, when we concern ourselves with the true human drama that exists outside our portals.
Tom Briggs is executive director of the Delaware County Office for the Aging. Senior Scene columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/seniorscene.
