2008 years ago

Why do you celebrate the new year? I guess that you do not know, you are just following the mainstream. A new year, oh, what a happiness, cheers! Look at the fireworks in the sky! Everyone is so very happy!
Are you crazy? What exactly is there to celebrate?
The birth of Jesus Christ 2008 years ago? But, no, he was born on December 25. Or was he? Are you sure? Are you?
As a matter of fact: no one knows for sure. Lots of historical evidence points to the fact that the Romans had a lot of festivities around December 25: they celebrated the survival of the sun, and they celebrated the birthday of the old god called Mithra, so why not coordinate all celebrations together: Sun, Mithra, Jesus Christ – letting everyone in the old Rome empire keep up the happy style that time of the year.
Well, if Jesus Christ was born on December 25 (let us assume that he did), what happened seven days later?
He was circumcised – as he was a Jewish boy.
Was he a Jew? Yes, he was.
So, are we celebrating the circumcision of Jesus? Hey there, let us eat lobster and salmon and drink champagne and let us use a lot of fireworks to celebrate that Jesus Christ was circumcised! Or whatever.
Do you want to know more about this? Then I suggest that you try to learn about the pope Gregorius XIII, who decided to introduce the new calendar in 1582, mostly to try to make corrections in order to celebrate Easter during a suitable period during Spring.
Well, well…there is a lot to learn, a lot to try to understand. It is not easy. But while you get on with your life I raise my glass of champagne, wishing you a Happy New Year. Cheers!

The newborn

I just have to introduce Mr. Herman Gordon Breitholtz.
Today, on 27th December, he has become one month old. And we are slowly starting a relation. I hope it will last for many years to come.

Democracy – and how to stay in power

I have heard people pronounce democracy as demo-crazy. A demo of going crazy. Well, it is not completely off the record. Democracy is a concept of very high value around the world – with some very obvious exceptions. Giving the basic power to the people. The majority has the possibility and the responsibility to make the final decisions of overriding and global issues. The majority has also the power to select the executive officers, including the politicians, that have to run and to conduct the business. If they succeed in agreement with the basic values they will probably become re-elected, otherwise out they go. This is according to the book.
The elected ones want of course to become gratified for doing a good job, wouldn´t we all? One of the most applied methods to keep the people in a good mood is to keep them uninformed. Don´t let the people know too much of what is going on, how you think, what kind of strategies you form, what is generally in your mind. Then there is a very good chance that people are content with what is going on. So, just keep your voice low. Do not speak up too much, just let the people know that you are still alive.
Another very good method for the elected ones to keep on is to quickly adjust to the role of élitism. You belong to the very top in the society (or organization), and if you stress this role of yours, for example by the dress code (white shirt and tie, a body language of authority, such things) you may get the people start to believe that you are much brighter and much smarter than most others. This will automatically put you into a sheltered position. An effect will also take place: people will not just respect you, they will become afraid of your ability to use power – and they will shut their mouths and form the silent majority. Bingo! You have won!

Silent night?

Will this night become silent? Will it bring you the feeling of the Holy of the Holies? Will you be moved by the core of Christianity? Will you spend a few hours to contemplate and to beg all mighty powers for a turnaround of all Human foolishness?
Or will you just stumble into your bed with too much of food in your stomach and too much of alcohol in your veins and too much of screaming small bastards around that you once forgot to teach about the value of close and nice relations and now can not find anything better in this world than to get more toys and more and more from that mystical Santa Claus, who by the way is a late market invention made by the business industry.
Well, it is up to you. It is your choice and your life. And please do not blame anyone else.
Merry Christmas!

A Jolly Christmas and Sinatra

I have to admit it. I have almost all my adult life been a Frank Sinatra-fan. It started already in 1954 when I bought the LP record “Songs for Swinging Lovers”. I became completely hooked. What a timing! What a voice! And this time of the year I could not resist it: I just had to buy the remastered CD from Capitol Records titled “A Jolly Christmas”. This is Frankie Boy at his best. His performance of one of the best Christmas songs ever (“The Christmas Song”) is just great! And please enjoy “Adeste Fideles”. And other melodies on the record. The orchestra is conducted by Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle has arranged the music.
But we won´t have any White Christmas this december. Today is around minus 2 degrees and absolutely no snow, and the Christmas days are expected to become warmer with grey skies. Climate change. I am afraid that Mr. Al Gore is perfectly right. Warning bells ringelingdingdong! So I will sing along with Mr. Sinatra: “I´m dreaming of a white Christmas….”. Dreams could work as very good memories. I am happy to have experienced lots of very white Christmas days, but I am afraid that they will be very rare in the future. Ringelingdingdong!

Santa on his way

This time of the year you´d better watch out. On the theatrical scene of the world there is an enormous, huge play, set up by the commercial industry owners. The sound sounds like this: Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy….and eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat…until you die, die, die, die, die….toodeeloo….
And what about Jesus? Didn´t he throw out the merchants from the temple?
But why bring up a short sentence from the Book like that at this moment? Wouldn´t it be better if you just sing Hosiannah, Son of God?
OK, I give up. I have to be kind this time of the year – otherwise Santa will not come and visit.
I have a friend, who always place a soup plate filled with porridge outside his front door of his house every Christmas Eve. In the morning the day after all porridge is gone, and he is absolutely convinced that it has been eaten by the very small Santa that lives nearby and is not visible for us Human Beings.
Yes, I have to be kind. I want to be kind. Particularly to you….and you….and you.
So I wish you a Merry Christmas. I really do. Sincerely. But please, take it easy…and take care.

´cause you´re worth it?

I visited my mother-in-law the other day. She is over ninety years of age and lives at a small group care center for old, senile people. Those who live there have really special needs for almost everything as they are not able to take care of themselves any more. The people in the staff are angels and they are not afraid of assisting in very close, private areas, such as visits at the toilets. The nurses and the nurse assistants work hard and in shifts days and nights. They are not specially well paid.
And then I read in the newspaper about the CEO of Ericsson. He has of course a very high salary and a lot of extra benefits. He is of course also working hard. But harder than the nurse assistants at the care center for senile people? Yes, when he works he has to use even more brain power than the nurses and the nurse assistants. But is this really a good enough quality measurement for such an enormous salary difference? The CEO earns every day the same amount that a nurse assistant makes in four months.
Sometimes I wonder which salary claims the CEO (or his colleagues) would raise if they were offered to work as assistants in the care center for senile people. My guess is that they in such a case would like to become paid double up against what they now have. Why? Because they think they are worth it?

Affection

Life is never easy. It is a bumpy and risky road, all the way from the very start to the bitter end. Most people learn to deny the difficulties and to repress all the pain. Conflicts are like clouds; sometimes you may be able to look at them and to describe them for others, but that is just because you try to keep them at a distance. Real life conflicts are so close up into your face that you do not even see them. Life is beautiful and ugly and nice and terrifying and smooth and horrendous. We are so very vulnerable, of course particularly at the very start. That is why we need angels around us, those who would die for us, those who have an overwhelmingly strong affection that works as strong ties between you and me. Normally we call it love. We need that love to survive, to grow, to develop in all senses. My daughter is your mother. She loves you. My daughter loves her boyfriend, who is your father. He loves you. My wife is your grandmother. She loves you. And I love you too.

What is so damn important about personal integrity?

As soon as any authority or resident owner or shop owner or taxi driver or train station management would like to install a web camera for supervision aims (they want simply to check what we common people are doing at their premises) there is always a wild outcry from the corners somewhere: Oh no! Absolutely not! We have to say no to those who want to offend the personal integrity!
What the hell is that about? Why use those almost magical words – personal integrity? Let us be clear: some people do not want to be visible in public spots. Why not? Are they crawling around with some mistress or some secret lover? Or are they on their way to betray their friends? Or are they making some dirty crimes?
Or are they just very, very, very shy?
I think that we have to be much more outspoken about this, which is a sort of a phenomenon. I do not exactly know the meaning of personal integrity. If someone or someones wants to look at me crossing the street, entering the bank, taking a taxi or a train, waiting in the queue at McDonalds, or hugging and kissing a beautiful woman – so, well, you are welcome to have a look. I give you that for free.

On sexual preferences

Oh, hot stuff: expressing views on sexual preferences. I have, just as an example, talked to quite a lot of both gay and bisexual people, and as soon as I have dared to raise the question of how they look at, or think of, the roots of their sexual preferences they most often respond with a very suspicious mind. What do I mean? Why try to dig up things like that? Humans are different. Some are born with blue eyes, some with dark skin, some with red hair and some with attractions to the same kind of gender as oneself. So, what is the problem?
I use to say something like this: There are of course genetic dispositions, directing our cells in our body to make us grow redhaired or fat or light skinned or tall or whatever, but I think that the development of sexuality and the development of sexual preferences (the degree of attraction of a special object outside yourself) is quite complicated and sophisticated. I do not buy that all driving forces are based upon genetic factors only. It is, as usual, a combination of genes and psychological dynamics, caused and refined by several intercommunication plays in between the child, the brothers and/or sisters (if any) and, of course, the parents or other important caretakers. All those dynamic factors would of course be interesting issues for psychological research. And to start with: it would be useful to listen to all kinds of people (straight, gay, bisexual, others) and their own stories of their upbringing contexts. But, oh, this is really hot stuff. Some people prefer to just hide everything about their roots in this matter. How about you? Are you openminded about it?