'In the Spirit of the Season'
by Festus L. Brotherson, Jr.
HAPPY holidays to all readers! Do enjoy the blessings of the season. Even as we have a good time at home and in the Diaspora, people often wonder how come the goodwill, courtesies and other pleasantries of the Christmas season do not last year round. Predictably, it seems, as every New Year dawns, and the realities of dealing with issues that had been placed in suspended animation leading up to and through the holidays set in, the imperative to renewed action strikes. People become sober. Real world problems have to be tackled by Guyanese with depleted pocket books. "Bah! Humbug!" That infamous Ebenezer Scrooge refrain tends to be the collective even if unspoken sentiment. But since humans cannot live well under perpetually cloudy skies, it is necessary to have fun in the sunshine of a Caribbean Xmas and simply to be happy in the spirit of the season. That nothing lasts forever applies to both good and bad circumstances. And for the latter, we can usually pluck the hopeful vision of the cup being half-full rather than half-empty. Precisely because of the fleeting nature of things, feelings of joy at Xmas time should be milked to the ultimate for self-enjoyment and for warmth and sincere generosity to others - especially children. In this regard, the several Xmas parties organised for needy children - a Guyanese tradition - must be praised again this year. Guyanese children have at least one major benefit to be thankful for even though they are too young to understand it in the world of deeper context. I speak of our seven-year-old democracy, which survived a turbulent first half of 1999 and is now better anchored and valued for withstanding those problems that could have led us back towards authoritarianism. Living the good life perpetually is not possible for any human being regardless of age, health, wealth, and other factors. However, knowing the context of such life in the overall scheme and rationale of things is usually useful. It helps perspective and it boosts reinforcement of will. In some of the more challenging portions of their works, Plato and his former best pupil, Aristotle, pronounced on life, goodness and the search for the latter simply through just living. Their comments are worthy of some remembrance at this time for they too can be viewed as being "in the spirit of the season." Plato agreed with a group of sophists and other challengers that three types of good governed life. The first was a kind we choose to have for its own sake and not for its consequences. Joy, for example, (let's say from telling jokes) is a harmless pleasure that brings nothing really beyond immediate enjoyment. The second good was a kind cherished both for itself and its consequences. In this category would be thinking, seeing and health. The third category was earning a living, exercise and being cured. We choose these types of good not for themselves, but only for their consequences. From experience, we know this to be true regarding exercise because it's no fun. Ha! Ha! For Plato and the group, the important question was into which of the three categories did justice fit. Plato thought it belonged in the second one, i.e., "among the things a man (woman) must cherish both for themselves and for their consequences if he's going to be truly happy." No, said his challengers. Justice, they claimed, must be classified with arduous things such as exercise and earning a living "that ought to be shunned for themselves but pursued for profit and a reputation based on appearance." Is the never-ending search then for the "good" society all a sham? Can it really be found? Perhaps, the more prolonged the sentiments shared at Christmas time, the more the likelihood of success? Justice, we know, requires impartiality and partiality; equality and inequality in an ever-changing equation in search of balance. Above all, it requires an eager intent for fair play. Aristotle was also provocative on the subject of life and good living. By compelling argument, he identified and distinguished good independence and inter-relationships between and among humans. There were three types of good to life - a natural impulse to live life both individually and socially, a common interest in sharing the good life among many, and the simple act of living itself. He argued that the central factor in all three circumstances was the state. As he saw it, "The state satisfies men's impulse towards a social life (which may exist apart from any need for mutual succour); it gives men a share in the good life which is their common interest; but it also helps men simply to live - and life itself is a thing of value." The lesson here is that these three types of good appear to commend joyful kinds of sentiment that thrive at Christmas time as means by which to advance the search for and preservation of the good state and society. Expanded, the point is that although there is dissatisfaction about the Guyana state and society - as there usually is about all states and societies - there are valuable things to celebrate about it. From observation, a pre-eminent one is the famous Guyanese sense of humour, which tends to underpin struggles for individual and collective betterment in the best and worst of times. Another is the capacity to endure hard times and to keep hope alive and well that somehow, one day, some way, things will get better. The just society, under girded by praiseworthy, uplifting sentiments that abound at Christmas time will emerge. Strive to be happy. It's all in the spirit of the season. Write Dr. Brotherson at PO Box: 1283, Medina, Ohio 44258, or send e-mail to lysias2@yahoo.com
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