November 7: My Business, Worry Wednesday, Mixed Bag

"It's not my business," Scrooge returned.  "It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's.  Mine occupies me constantly.  Good afternoon, gentlemen!"

You may be wondering why I chose such a self-centered, negative quote from Ebenezer Scrooge on this, the morning after Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States.  I have made my position fairly clear on my politics recently.  And not so recently, as well.  Make no mistake:  I am happy about the results of last night's presidential contest.

However, upon some reflection this morning, I have come to realize what a self-centered exercise politics can be.  I wanted Barack Obama to win because of his dedication to the middle class and health care, among other things.  If I were in business versus education, I would probably have been a Mitt Romney supporter.  That's the way politics works.  The winner of any political election, whether it's for President of the United States or city council, is the person whom the electorate believes will help them with their problems the most.  Ebenezer Scrooge, pre-Marley's ghost, would have been a Romney supporter.  Ebenezer Scrooge, post-yuletide Ghosts, would have backed Obama.  It's all about what your "business" is.

Today is Worry Wednesday.  I could go on about the schizophrenic nature of the political situation in Michigan.  I mean, we are the state in which most of the country's labor unions began, and, yet, we voted down a proposal last night that would have constitutionally protected collective bargaining.  We, as a state, went blue for Barack, and, yet, my county in the Upper Peninsula reelected a fellow to Congress who is a heart surgeon, a millionaire, and a Republican.  Go figure.  When I reviewed all of the results from last night, I got the feeling that people in Michigan simply didn't think things through very much.  We have a Democratic president, and we elected a man to the House of Representatives who will oppose his every move.

I could go on, but I'm not going to.  I have worries, for myself, for my family, for my country.  Everybody does.  I know that Barack Obama is not going to take care of all my worries.  Mitt Romney would not have taken care of all my worries.  As Ebenezer Scrooge says in the passage at the beginning of this post, my business will occupy me constantly, for the rest of my life.

Saint Marty wants to rise above his worries this morning and embrace the idea of hope and compassion and charity.  That's his Father's business.



Feeling a little blue



January 18: All Business, My Business, Being Occupied

Scrooge, taking care of business

"It's not my business," Scrooge returned.  "It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's.  Mine occupies me constantly.  Good afternoon, gentlemen!"

This is Scrooge dismissing the two men who come to his office on Christmas Eve seeking a charitable donation for the poor.  Scrooge's little diatribe echoes back a little later in the stave when the ghost of  Jacob Marley laments over what the real business of his life should have been.

Obviously, Dickens doesn't subscribe to Scrooge's way of thinking.  The entire book is practically a call to social action .  I can almost see Dickens standing at the corner on a soapbox, yelling at well-dressed passers-by:  "Your business is to help your fellow man!"  (Yes, he would have used the word "man."  This is Victorian England we're talking about here.)  "Dig deep to help the poor and needy," he'd yell, "or the human race is doomed."  Later on in the book, in the stave with the Ghost of Christmas Present, Dickens actually uses the word "doom" to describe humanity's chances if it turns a blind eye towards the misery of others.

I understand Scrooge's response to the two gentlemen at the beginning of the book.  Most of the time, I am completely occupied and preoccupied by the business of my life.  My business.  My worries.  My needs.  My wants.  It's an easy mindset to fall into.  Dropping spare change into a Salvation Army bucket, writing out a check to church each weekend, putting a couple of dollars in an envelope for  a local homeless shelter, these things all take money away from me.  Money that could be used to pay bills or go to a movie or put gas in my vehicle.  You know, taking care of my business.

Of course, Scrooge learns his lesson by the end of A Christmas Carol.  He's completely reformed and spends the rest of his life, so it seems, squandering the fortune he's amassed in the bank.  He saves Tiny Tim, gives Bob a raise, parties with his nephew, donates to the poor.  He does these things without a thought about how he's going to pay for them.  He is obviously filthy, stinkin' rich.

I haven't reached that point of enlightenment in my life.  I still worry about money.  Finances are one of my greatest stresses.  I'm still focused on my business.  Perhaps I would have a different attitude if I were as wealthy as Ebenezer.  Perhaps I would go around, paying off people's mortgages or buying medical care for the Tiny Tims of the world.  Perhaps.  I don't know.

Give Saint Marty a couple million dollars and see what he does with it.