In Which I Admit It for My Factious Purposes
A brief reading for the season, courtesy of Dickens, who I’m told undertook A Christmas Carol mainly for the money, being in desperate need of cash in the fall of 1843. But then, like all good obsessives, he got caught up in the venture, and the rest is history. Anyway:
Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.
‘Spirit, are they yours?’ Scrooge could say no more.
‘They are Man’s,’ said the Spirit, looking down upon them. ‘And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!’ cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. ‘Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse! And abide the end!’
December 6th, 2004 at 8:59 am
Yes, but who is Scrooge?
Notice the convenient excuses Scrooge had for not giving to a private charity. Nobody wants to give to private charities when they are already forced to thru their taxes.
Imagine if, tomorrow, Bush were to call up the Salvation Army and ask if they wanted him to push for getting them federal funds. They’d probably tell him to “Get lost! Take a hike!” because the minute that the rich white fat cats hear that the Salvation Army gets federal money, they’ll pull their funding. Government welfare creates more problems than it solves.