A Symbol For Our Economic & Ecological Savagery

The nation's official christmas tree is no more. High winds in the Washington, D.C. area snapped the tree's trunk and toppled it (see picture above). Fortunately, no one was in the area when the tree fell.

The tradition of the president lighting a national christmas tree started in 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge performed the ceremony. The tree that was felled was planted in 1978 and first lit officially by President Carter. The National Park Service is currently investigating getting a replacement tree (if they have the money after Republicans finish slashing the federal budget).

My first thought upon hearing the tree had been toppled by bad weather was that this is a perfect symbol for what politicians are currently doing to our economy and our environment. In the last few years, our government (mainly Republicans) have instituted policies that created the widest gaps between the rich and poor in wealth and income since before the Great Depression. They then gave the rich massive tax cuts, continued enormous corporate subsidies, and engaged in two unnecessary and illegal wars. And the answer to the problems these actions caused (the recession) is to cut the programs that help ordinary Americans the most.

Add to this the fact that the government has failed to do anything to halt global climate change, and the Republican House has slashed funds for the EPA and banned it from regulating emissions of any kind. It seems obvious that the government is determined to destroy both our economy and our environment.

Maybe knocking down the tree was Mother Nature's way of showing her disgust. Why should a nation so bent on destroying itself have need for any national traditions -- of christmas or anything else?