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“[…] Today Christmas—and many other religious observances—has become totally commercialised as a rapacious capitalist system sees the opportunity to make significant profits at this time, almost to the point where the religious significance of Christmas is lost.
“[…] Surely the Prince of Peace would have called out the hypocrisy of those leaders of the western world who claim to be righteous—including the one who covets the Peace Prize—even as they support the genocide by supplying bombs and weapons to Israel and/or do nothing to sanction and isolate this country and its leaders, who are committing crimes against humanity in the very place where Jesus was born…”
The following Christmas Message on today’s global happenings was issued by Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah:
The Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) extends wishes for a peaceful and happy season to our fellow citizens and a very holy Christmas to members of the Christian community.
Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ who is also known as the Prince of Peace. What, we ask, would the Prince of Peace say about today’s world? We think that some answers can be found in His life and teaching and we would do well to learn those lessons.
Thus: He went into the Temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and others. For Him, profiteering off religious observances was a sin.
Yet today Christmas—and many other religious observances—has become totally commercialised as a rapacious capitalist system sees the opportunity to make significant profits at this time, almost to the point where the religious significance of Christmas is lost.
There are wars and rumours of (and plans for) wars in virtually every part of the world. The genocide of the Palestinian people continues even with agreement for a peace plan, as Israel disregards it, continues to bomb and kill Palestinians and escalate policies of apartheid in the Occupied West Bank with more and more illegal settlements being established.
The killing of Palestinian children can be likened to Herod’s decision to kill all boy children following the birth of Jesus, in order to prevent the Prince of Peace challenging his (Herod’s) power.
The Gaza Strip has been likened to an open air prison.
Surely the Prince of Peace would have called out the hypocrisy of those leaders of the western world who claim to be righteous—including the one who covets the Peace Prize—even as they support the genocide by supplying bombs and weapons to Israel and/or do nothing to sanction and isolate this country and its leaders, who are committing crimes against humanity in the very place where Jesus was born!
There are mini-wars as countries fight for power and control of borders and territories: Cambodia-Thailand; Pakistan-India; and there are major wars like the one that gets most attention, Russia-Ukraine, which is about power and control in Europe.
And there are the ones that are resulting in many more people dying, being displaced and experiencing hunger and suffering. We refer to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In these wars, there are powerful and rich countries that are involved by backing one side or the other. These powerful countries—in the west and, in the case of the Sudan, in the Middle East—supply weapons and finance in order to profit if “their” side wins.
Oil, rare earth minerals, and other valuable resources like gold and diamonds in the DRC are the profits for these warmongers. The Prince of Peace would reject a world where the system rewards wealth and greed above human lives.
Closer to home we have a war in the making on our doorstep, as the US uses its military might in an old style gunboat diplomacy to force regime change in Venezuela.
This is a classic case of an imperial agenda, as the US President said that “we want all the Oil, Land and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
Photo: Boereport.
In the time of the Prince of Peace, there was an imperial power, the Roman Empire, and it occupied many parts of the world and exploited the resources and people in those areas.
To fulfil this agenda, they required the support of locals who collaborated with the imperial empire. In the time of the Prince of Peace the collaborators were from the ruling elites: the Scribes and Pharisees.
Today, we have another imperial empire—or an empire that is in decline but fighting to maintain its hegemony in a world where there are now many poles of power.
So the US seeks to impose its hegemony over this hemisphere. As its National Security Strategy states, it intends to “restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere… and will reward and encourage the region’s governments, political parties and movements broadly aligned with our principles and strategy”.
Caine, the chairman of USA’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, is America’s highest-ranking military officer.
Photo: UNC.
What will the Prince of Peace say about this imperial agenda and those who align with that agenda?
Remember the Scribes and Pharisees sold out the Prince of Peace and, by extension, their own people to the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate.
What lesson does the birth of the Prince of Peace teach us today about:
- Challenging the status quo of greed and profiteering that is integral to the neo-liberal capitalist system today?
- Insisting on peace over war; and humanity over greed and control of wealth by a few countries and a few billionaires;
- Ensuring that the Caribbean remains a Zone of Peace;
- Rejecting the imperial agenda of the US; and
- Denouncing those governments and parties that sell out their sovereignty in order to align with the imperial agenda.
As we celebrate the Christmas holiday and enjoy the time with family and friends, let us not lose sight of what the Christmas story teaches us.
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