Christmas and Liberty

Monday, 20 December 2010 02:32

Written by Nonoy Oplas

Christmas is mainly a celebration by believers of the Christian religion, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But even non-Christians and non-believers of any religion join in its celebration. Its global appeal is something that is remarkable and respected by many (but not all, of course) people around the world regardless of religion, culture and political system.

The key here are the practices of gift-giving (especially to children), playing and singing of festive and hopeful music, reunions and get-together, nice food, nice decorations like giant christmas trees and lanterns, and so on. The festive mood appeals not only to Christians but also to believers of other religions.

Because of the general festivity of the Christmas season, especially for a predominantly Christian country like the Philippines, it is commonly practiced that politics take a backseat. Politicians of course use the occasion to mingle with their political supporters, but political grandstanding and debates generally take a backstage. Ceasefire between the government army and armed communist rebels is also being done every year during the holiday season.

Such is one beauty of Christmas. Less politics, less political disunity, festive and hopeful mood among people. The Christmas bonuses to employees and personnel, big or small amount, further perk up the festivities. Even those in the informal sector like the self-employed ambulant vendors experience brisk sales as people in the formal sector who receive their Christmas bonuses and 13th month pay spend more.

Even tax-hungry government collectors will have difficulty monitoring and persecuting “tax evaders” because of the huge number of traders and retailers. So the tendency is to allow those people have a break from tax harassment, even for a few days or weeks.

Where there is less politics, where the government tends to relax some of its various restrictions and prohibitions, there is more individual freedom.

People are focused on producing various goods and services before and during the season, and they are also focused on consuming various goods and services. The huge volume of economic activities between and among various producers and consumers create lots of economic opportunities for many people.

Even the lazy suddenly become industrious because of the expected surge in consumer spending, and they wish to earn extra for the season so they will have extra resources to join in the festivities. The burden on government welfare agencies is lesser during Christmas season because of this change in behavior among many people.

Christmas and industriousness, Christmas and less politics, Christmas and more entrepreneurship. This nice combination is conducive to expand individual freedom and liberty.

May we have more days like this season. And may we have a new breed of political parties, groups and politicians who understand and appreciate ordinary people’s desire for less politics, less government intervention and taxation.

Merry Christmas to us all.

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