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« Boston's new museum | Main | Brown professor OWNS the Times letters page* » Wednesday, December 6, 2006Christmas the responsible wayA perceptive essay by the environmental writer Bill McKibben is reproduced here, by The Center for the New American Dream, which "helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice." (Sorry, but good luck.) Poor McKibben must get tired of writing the same warnings and encouragements year after year, but he's good enough at it that it isn't a chore for readers, even when he's gently hammering us for our ethical shortcomings. The essay, though written some years ago, is timely now that we swing into the holiday season. 19 shopping days left! I've been working on the family to reduce our consumption every Christmas for five years, but McKibben says it better. The reason to change Christmas is not because it represents shameful excess in a world of poverty, though perhaps it does. The reason to change Christmas -- the reason it might be useful to change Christmas -- is because it might help us to get at some of the underlying discontent in our lives. Because it might help us see how to change every other day of the year, in ways that really would make our whole lives, and maybe our entire 365-days-a-year culture, healthier in the long run. Posted by Evan Hughes at 04:28 PM
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