Rather than dismiss the World Giving Index out of hand I reserve the right to be skeptical, at this time. The numbers just aren't there...people can respond any way they want, just to look good.
I did a Google for "World Greed Index" and the results were disappointing. The big hits centered on CNN's "Fear and Greed Index," which is a tool for Wall Street types. No sense in me trying to ride that horse.
-----
Bad mouthing the jolly old elf? Nothing of the sort was intended, Uncle Ken. I acknowledge my inability to properly frame my thoughts...it had less to do with S. Claus and more to the notion of belief systems, and how they develop.
My memory is hazy but I think I heard about Santa before I heard about the son of the carpenter and his young girlfriend. The notion of receiving gifts, for no reason whatsoever except being "good" was a mind-blower, and didn't have much to do with the loot. It was all gravy as far as I was concerned. Know anybody that got a lump of coal? I don't. BTW, I asked my sister's kids (all late 20s) if they've ever handled coal and they looked at me like I sprouted antennae. Maybe I should carry a piece of coal in my pocket and ask some random Millennials (or younger) if they know what it is.
Over time, I noticed that Santa played favorites...little Mike down the street got a whole bunch of stuff, while Linda next door didn't get shit and she was much better behaved. Took a while to realize that Mikey's family was a lot better off than Linda's.
A perusal of Santa Claus on Wikipedia showed me the extent of "Big Santa," and I won't argue about it. The ideal is real enough and I can live with it.
So now I must ask, are human beings born insane, and the belief in imaginary things makes us sane enough to function? A poorly phrased question, but maybe you can see where I'm trying to go with this. I'm not so sure, myself.
Jeez, writing in the Institute's blog is a lot of hard work brain-wise, and I'm not used to it. I would grade my efforts thus far as between a D+ and C-, but it's early enough in the semester that I can maybe raise my grades. I dread the mid-term...
A final word on the original Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Smyrna. He paid the dowries for the three daughters of an impoverished devout Christian so they didn't have to become prostitutes. Nice guy.
-----
Good discussion of the Devil's Advocate. I noticed that people sometimes regard a simple question as an accusation or attack. Maybe it's my tone of voice. Are folks getting more thin-skinned, or it's that crusty geezers are not easily offended?
-----
Poor France. It's not just guns and bombs to worry about, add trucks to the list. What's next?
No comments:
Post a Comment