Never has so few words been so wrong until the the Christmas Day Chicago Sun-Times Daily Rant came along. Not only does it unreasonably call the mean, pre-ghosted version of the Scrooge character a "traditional, conservative Republican" but it then goes on to swerve to the opposite -- and equally wrong -- conclusion that the post-ghostie Scrooge is a "bleeding-heart liberal." In truth BOTH claims are quite wide of the mark in analogy. In fact, not only did the Sun-times miss a true reading of the characters, they got them juxtaposed!
Here is the short, and woefully wrong Christmas Day Daily Rant:
I can't understand why people are so in love with Charles Dickens' story ''A Christmas Carol.''
Let me see if I understand the story right: Scrooge starts out as a traditional, conservative Republican, and because of the interference of three, uh, ghosts, he ends up a bleeding-heart liberal. Why is this such a good thing?
Erroneous Claim One: the eeevil Republican Scrooge
The fact is, that Republicans are not only happier, but they also give more to charity than do Democrats and liberals. This being true, calling the sour, mean-spirited, miserly pre-ghosted Ebenezer Scrooge a "traditional, conservative Republican" is an absurd claim. Republicans are neither miserly nor mean as a general rule by the facts we have at our fingertips.
So, the mean Scrooge being a typical GOPer is absurd and insulting.
Erroneous Claim Two: the bleeding-heart liberal Scrooge
Similarly, the post-ghostie Scrooge is not a typical liberal at all. The Scrooge that is so happy to give his fortune away does not match the actions of a liberal. You see, a liberal doesn't want to give his own money away, he wants to give every one else's money away. As noted above the proof of that is the fact that they don't give to charity, but support nanny state government programs and confiscatory taxes. Since we saw above that Republicans are more happy, and more charitable it is far less likely that a Scrooge that is deliriously happy to be helping others with his own fortune could be in any way a "bleeding-heart liberal"!
And last but not least, in the original book the post-ghostie Scrooge attends church after his ghostly visits. This in and of itself disqualifies Scrooge as being a Democrat OR a liberal!
So, whoever wrote this Chicago Sun-Times Daily Rant didn't "understand the story right."
Nope, not at all. So a big BAH! HUMBUG! to you Sun-Times.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Wow, the drive bys can't
December 25, 2007 - 12:32 ET by Gary P JacksonWow, the drive bys can't even take Christmas day off from shilling for the dims! Wasn't it Bill Clinton who was so much of a Scrooge he donated used underwear, and then claimed the deduction?
Merry Christmas to all!
Uh, yeah. At $4 per pair
December 25, 2007 - 13:05 ET by motherbeltUh, yeah. At $4 per pair to boot!
Of course now, he and his wife never miss an opportunity to tell us how rich they are.
You know.... I heard that
December 25, 2007 - 13:32 ET by BuxomAnnieMcGreggorYou know.... I heard that most Libs are such snobs, they wear boxers in the bathtub to keep themselves from looking down on the unemployed!
Life can be a real b*tch... so why vote for one?
There arose such a clatter
December 25, 2007 - 12:33 ET by acumenWhat to my wandering eyes should appear?
The Sun-Times stereotyping at this special time of year.
Understanding
December 25, 2007 - 12:57 ET by ThisnThat"I can't understand why people are so in love with Charles Dickens' story ''A Christmas Carol.'' "
I think the first three words say it all -- "I can't understand". No lib could ever understand; it's not in their DNA, and they don't have the intellect or imagination to see that individuals can make a difference, and that facts and history do matter.
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Oh, really?
December 25, 2007 - 13:18 ET by goldenthroatSo Scrooge was a rich "Republican"? Hmmm - now that the demoncrats have more or less been declared the "party of the rich", I guess the Clinton Sun-Times needs to rethink their hypothesis.
Oh, wait a minute - do liberals even think?
"Yeah! That's the ticket!" - Tommy Flanagan
Scrooge this...
December 25, 2007 - 13:07 ET by CrashWhy then do republicans give more to charity than do democrats; not to mention we take care of our kin?
Humbug I say!
Liberals
December 25, 2007 - 13:46 ET by iveseenitallModern "liberals" spend most of their time trying to convince themselves and others how wonderful they are. Then they find out that they truly dislike themselves and others. Sadly, they act accordingly. You are tempted to feel sorry for them, but they won't justify your feelings. It is sad, but modern "liberalism" is a scourge to mankind. It has been both in control and "out of control" for far too long in America.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
"because of the interference
December 25, 2007 - 14:27 ET by mikej"because of the interference of three, uh, ghosts, he ends up a bleeding-heart liberal."
Funny, because I don't recall him saying "Merry Generic Holiday depending on your ethnic background" after his dream. I thought he kept saying Merry Christmas to everyone.
Also, after his "awakening" to be a bleeding heart liberal, I don't remember him roaming neighborhoods and towns looking for religious symbols to be removed.
I don't remember him shutting down Christmas dinner wondering if the Turkey was a free range Turkey and if some of the food was cooked in the oil with trans fats.
I guess I'm seeing Scrooge really not living up to being a true bleeding heart liberal.
One more thing: Three?
December 26, 2007 - 17:22 ET by BradzillaHe apparently hasn't read or even seen a version of the story in quite a while before he made his comparisons. Scrooge was visited by *four* ghosts, those being Jacob Marley and the three Christmas ghosts. A recent viewing would have reminded him of that. However, facts are not an issue when you simply want to make stereotypes.
Pre-Ghost Scrooge is very much a liberal
December 25, 2007 - 23:00 ET by GrannyGrump42"Let them die, and decrease the surplus population."
Isn't that the motto of Greenpeace, Planned Parenthood, the Ford Foundation, World Bank, and every other batch of Lefties?
Before: Did not celebrate
December 26, 2007 - 01:45 ET by JerryBefore: Did not celebrate the birth of Jesus (liberal).
After: Celebrated the birth of Jesus (conservative).
Before: Kept the thermostat extremely low (liberal).
After: Was not afraid to build a roaring fire (conservative).
Before: Thought the minimum wage he paid was meant to be a living wage (liberal).
After: Gave merit based raise to employee (conservative).
Before: Acted as if he were part of the "elite" ruling class (liberal).
After: Took matters into his own hands instead of waiting for universal health care to take care of Tiny Tim (conservative).
Before: Angry, bitter, hateful, George Soros type of character (liberal).
After: Happy, charitable, red state type of character (conservative).
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
Let's be honest and say that
December 26, 2007 - 09:12 ET by KillgraveLet's be honest and say that it's a bit narrow to force modern red/blue sensibilities on a timeless character.
But I'll go ahead and say that Scrooge is definitely not a modern liberal in the end. He gave the Cratchet (sp?) family a REAL turkey. No tofurkey.
liberal scrooge
December 26, 2007 - 11:25 ET by DFLowerI think the best example in the story is pre-ghost Scrooge being asked to give money to the poor and he answers "What have we no prisons?"
So the pre-ghost scrooge want's the government to take care of the problem, which is the liberals answer for anything.
The modern movies made of A
December 26, 2007 - 20:32 ET by Chris NormanThe modern movies made of A Christmas Carol try to make the story more overtly political. The George C Scott version tried especially hard to make it apply to the present, with a speech given by a homeless character, who wasn't in the book.
Government Is Not The Charitable Way
December 27, 2007 - 20:10 ET by deerjerkydaveLiberals view government as the only legitimate way to be charitable. As usual they are wrong. But the MSM, being the liberals that they are, carry the line for this way of thinking. And too many listeners of the MSM are brainwashed into agreement.
The problem with government charity is at multiple levels:
1. Government acquires its money by force. True charity is when the giving is done without coersion.
2. Government produces a terrible return on the contribution. Only a fraction of the contribution actually reaches the cause. The overhead of many private charities is in the single digits percentage wise. For government the overhead is commonly over 50%.
3. Last but not least is that paid charity work produces a conflict of interest. If your job is dependant upon the problem existing, where is the motivation to solve it?
NO, GOVERNMENT IS NOT CHARITY.