Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: In defense of Scrooge...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

In defense of Scrooge...

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As the Christmas season once again begins it's assault, I turn my eye towards a great injustice in our time.

Ebenezer Scrooge.

The man was persecuted by 'the forces of good'. Tortured, maligned, despised, and berated till he fell apart emotionally and gave in to his torturers. He was verbally, emotionally, and physically assaulted in the name of 'The People', all with the goal of breaking him into a gibbering idiot.

All the man ever required of the world was to be left alone. Sure, he amassed wealth, but he did it honestly. People saw him as cruel when he asked no more than to be dealt with honestly, and to have contracts honored as written. He was derided as 'miserly' and 'mean', all for the crime of not throwing away his hard earned wealth in ways pleasing to do-gooders who were sure they knew better than he how to spend his money.

Ebenezer Scrooge was hounded by a Communistic society who's motto of "Share The Wealth" gave them the power to reach not only into mans pockets, but into our very souls.

Tomorrow I shall make my views known on the creature called 'The Grinch', as well.

3 comments:

TheWayfarer said...: Charity is what YOU DECIDE to do with your money to help those you deem worthy. Altruism (spiritualism-based socialism) is what some damn corrupt politician does to make him/herself look good, usually running up debt in process, then demands you pay for - HUGE difference!; December 2, 2010 at 4:06 PM
Anonymous said...: I had to laugh at this post only because I just finished watching the 1950 something version. I can see what you are saying....but didn't Scrooge also refuse to pay for coal, give his employee any more money for a long period of time. I wouldn't consider that charity. That is just him being a...scrooge?; December 2, 2010 at 7:05 PM
Carteach said...: Lol....

Scrooge, an old man, was quite comfortable in his chilled business abode. True, he did not provide enough coal to keep his much younger employee in the comfort he wished, but neither did he prevent him from bringing his own coal, did he?

As for the long hours with no extra pay.... Bob Cratchet was a salaried employee. He was expected to get the work done, as his job entailed.... and he was not enslaved. He could have left anytime he wished. Staying on those terms was his choice.

Much as I, a teacher, am expected to do far, far more work than my contracted hours and salary provide for. Staying is my choice, as I am no more slave than Bob Cratchet. I am told simply... "Get the pointless paperwork done or we'll replace you, and no we don't care that it requires your unpaid nights and weekends".

We all have a bit of Bob Cratchet in our lives, and are left with a sense that fairness is lacking in life.... which it is. 'Fair' is a silly, if not assanine, concept. It certainly gives us no right to persecute the Scrooges of the world just to satisfy our own hurt sense of childish want.

:-); December 2, 2010 at 7:29 PM

Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.