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Circa 29 AD, illustration of the new Testament story when Jesus purged the temple of the money changers. Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
That Ye Love One Another
A nod to the real meaning of the holiday, the birth of a Jesus who was not divine but "supremely human" - a radical, homeless, Jewish, brown-skinned, community-organizing revolutionary who kept company with crooks and hookers, never mentioned abortion or gay marriage, never called the poor lazy, never fought for tax cuts for rich Nazarenes and never asked a leper for copay. Eugene Debs called him "as real and persuasive a historic character as John Brown (or) Karl Marx" whose "pith and core" was his commandment to "love one another, be brethren, make common cause."
Dec 25, 2021
A nod to the real meaning of the holiday, the birth of a Jesus who was not divine but "supremely human" - a "radical non-violent revolutionary who hung around with lepers, hookers and crooks... was anti-wealth, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer; but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control, never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for copay, and was a long-haired, brown-skinned, homeless, community-organizing anti- slut-shaming Middle Eastern Jew." In a 1914 essay, Eugene Debs called Jesus "as real and persuasive a historic character as John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, or Karl Marx...brought forth for no other purpose than (to) set up the common people as the sole and rightful inheritors of the earth: 'Happy are the lowly for they shall inherit the earth.'" Debs celebrates "the martyred Christ of the working class, the inspired evangel of the downtrodden masses" and calls on the commandment that was "the pith and core of all his pleading, all his preaching, and all his teaching" - love one another, be brethren, make common cause, stand together." A lifetime's work. Wishing you all peaceful healthy holidays, and many indictments.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
A nod to the real meaning of the holiday, the birth of a Jesus who was not divine but "supremely human" - a "radical non-violent revolutionary who hung around with lepers, hookers and crooks... was anti-wealth, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer; but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control, never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for copay, and was a long-haired, brown-skinned, homeless, community-organizing anti- slut-shaming Middle Eastern Jew." In a 1914 essay, Eugene Debs called Jesus "as real and persuasive a historic character as John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, or Karl Marx...brought forth for no other purpose than (to) set up the common people as the sole and rightful inheritors of the earth: 'Happy are the lowly for they shall inherit the earth.'" Debs celebrates "the martyred Christ of the working class, the inspired evangel of the downtrodden masses" and calls on the commandment that was "the pith and core of all his pleading, all his preaching, and all his teaching" - love one another, be brethren, make common cause, stand together." A lifetime's work. Wishing you all peaceful healthy holidays, and many indictments.
Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
A nod to the real meaning of the holiday, the birth of a Jesus who was not divine but "supremely human" - a "radical non-violent revolutionary who hung around with lepers, hookers and crooks... was anti-wealth, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer; but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control, never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for copay, and was a long-haired, brown-skinned, homeless, community-organizing anti- slut-shaming Middle Eastern Jew." In a 1914 essay, Eugene Debs called Jesus "as real and persuasive a historic character as John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, or Karl Marx...brought forth for no other purpose than (to) set up the common people as the sole and rightful inheritors of the earth: 'Happy are the lowly for they shall inherit the earth.'" Debs celebrates "the martyred Christ of the working class, the inspired evangel of the downtrodden masses" and calls on the commandment that was "the pith and core of all his pleading, all his preaching, and all his teaching" - love one another, be brethren, make common cause, stand together." A lifetime's work. Wishing you all peaceful healthy holidays, and many indictments.
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