When Medicine Replaces Miracles: Christmas Classics Meet The Not-So-Great Physician
Plus: Christmas Concert Spectacular!
My campaign to Make Advent Great Again (see good tips here, here, and here) seems to have hit a few speed bumps (he writes, covered in tinsel, surrounded by Christmas trees, with Rudolph songs blaring), so, with Thanksgiving approaching, I thought I’d take the opportunity to throw in the towel and wish y’all a very Merry Christmas!
However, I’m nothing if not a one-track mind, so here is some anti-medical-establishment ranting to get you in the spirit of the season. The kids and I were reading a Christmas classic when it occurred to me that its story would be impossible today. No, I don’t mean the miraculous aspects of the plot – I mean that the characters would never make it to the point of needing a miracle, since chances are they’d have long ago been numbed to their predicament by their doctor’s best efforts. My little Christmas homework assignment for you: as you hopefully enjoy some reading or movie time with your own loved ones this holiday season, take a moment to think about the story you love – and how different it would be if the modern pharmaceutical industry had got its claws into the characters. I’m sure you will be able to come up with many an example, here are a few to get you started:
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
The Grinch hated Christmas, the whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
That, of course, was before his primary care doc used a one-page checklist to diagnose him with a mood disorder and start him on a hefty dose of Prozac. On the bright side, he no longer stares down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown (the cave is quite cozy now that he’s met with a therapist who turned him on to some good self-help books and Marie Kondo). The Grinch’s heart, however, is now doomed to forever remain two sizes too small. He no longer hates the Whos, he no longer hates Christmas. This isn’t because he’s discovered, as he does in the original tale, the true meaning of Christmas. Instead, his doctor has helped him numb himself to his anger – and thus also to true joy and any chance at heart-enlarging redemption.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Charles M Schulz already knew all about quack psychiatric care when he wrote this classic.
Charlie Brown’s saving grace is that Lucy does not have the power of modern pharmaceuticals at her disposal. Had she been handing out Zoloft from that booth, would families across the world have ever gotten the chance to hear this?
Linus's Christmas Monologue [Book Of Luke 2:8-20] - YouTube
A Christmas Carol (great resources here)
Somehow I doubt Scrooge starting up some psych meds and talk therapy would have gotten the gospel message into his heart. Perhaps, at just the right dosage, his employees might have gotten a raise, but Ebenezer himself would never have been saved.
You get the gist; you can no doubt provide many examples of your own. I’m sure there are many reasons for our society’s growing lack of faith – but is one reason, perhaps, that something like a quarter of us are now medically numbed to our own emptiness? What if you have to hit rock bottom before you start to look up? What if you have to be in utter darkness before you finally see the light? That was the case for me; it seems, too, to be the message at the heart of many of our beloved Christmas classics. What then to make of a world where modern drugs and therapy keep millions mostly out of the dark - but also out of the light? Perhaps the Christmas spirit is fading because it is so hard to see the star of all stars when you are living in a world of shadows and fog.
On a completely different note: Austin-area readers, are you looking for a fantastic Christmas concert? One that stays true to the reason for the season, and features adorable child singers, professional adult choirs, and supremely talented classical musicians? Then you’re in luck! Don’t miss your chance to get tickets for the upcoming Millenial Choir and Orchestra Christmas Concert.
As they explain on their website, “MCO was founded for the purpose of teaching and encouraging excellence in quality sacred and classical music. Its primary purpose is to fulfill the need for more refined music education and performance in our communities, with a focus on God and country.”
As for the upcoming performance: “Millennial Choirs & Orchestras proudly presents The World Was Waiting, featuring some of the most beloved Christmas carols and holiday favorites from across the globe, performed by a stunning musical force of hundreds of musicians: the breathtaking Youth Choirs, the majestic Grand Chorus, and the festive Symphony Orchestra. Join us for this festive celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.”
It's very family friendly, so bring your kids to sing along – tickets going fast here.
I may or may not be married to one of the amazing volunteer musicians, so I’ve had a sneak peek, and it’ll be a lot of fun. To return to Charlie Brown, this should get you in the right mood (just add a full orchestra, a gorgeous cello soloist, and a hundred or so singers):
Charlie Brown Hark the Herald Angels Sing - YouTube
Thank you for reading, and all my best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful Thanksgiving!
P.s. Seriously, do get your kids into a yearly tradition of a Jesse Tree! I’m still not done trying to make Advent happen…
I agree with much of what you say but for every Grinch that hit rock bottom and turned it around after hitting rock bottom, there might be 10 that never found their way out of that hole. "The Grinch that Committed Suicide" is not quite as heartwarming. I think we should not dismiss pharmaceuticals as part of the prevention of terrible outcomes relating to depression and as a temporary aid to those struggling. Totally agree they are overprescribed though and then (perhaps worse) never weaned or thought about again.
In all fairness, Charlie Brown would just be receiving Ritalin or Adderall. Along with the rest of the Peanuts Gang -- all the kids, even depressive Charlie Brown, are going about self-organizing baseball games and other neighborhood play instead of sitting still at home or at adult-organized activities where it's SAFE.