Madame President, Fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests:
In the spirit of bah humbug, and you don't have a soul sentimentality, I have written for you...
Un-romantizing christmas...
Friends, we have come to times of great hardship, unsure economic footing, our own car companies running on empty... AND we only have X amount of shopping days to muster a spirit of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah and Winter Solstice.
Now why would I want to unromanticize Christmas in the space of 7 minutes? You've been happily worshiping evergreen trees for generations. Isn't it the season to be jolly, be generous and gift your nearest and dearest while getting absolutely sauced? You have special events and sales at the mall to attend. Doesn't the holiday and year - ending season rush puts adrenaline and calories through your system that count and plan your schedule around?
Well I want to one up Mr and Mrs jones... that's why I am going to trump Saint Nick and December 25th in true Hollyday spirit. You do realize that December 25th is not really baby jesus birthday. yes? I know you are an intelligent group of people that like to know the facts and enjoy whatever superstitions you choose. (OPEN UMBRELLA)
Since many of you may be MORE sensitive about Santa, I will be less controversial and bash Mary, Joseph and Jesus first.
This is who we owe a box trading tradition to... (NATIVITY SCENE PIX) That silent night, holy night, all is calm song is a lie. Think about it.... how can you be peaceful when you can't find a place to sleep and you have to go into labor which you've never done before surrounded by animals and then put your baby into their feeding trough.
Mary: Here? Have the baby here? The Son of God? It's sooo dirty!
Joseph: What do I do? What do I do?
(PUT baby OUT)
Sheep to Animals: DO NOT EAT THE BABY!!!
And from this scenario we celebrate peace?
It's seasonal decoration... elaborate toy sets, or a clever way to sell more bread....
Do people notice where they can see Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus during the rest of the year?
Here's a piece of reality. (PUT OUT STONE) This was the typical fate of young girls with questionable conditions.
It all started with an angel... and a young girl.
Imagine yourself.. minding your own business when all of a sudden an angel appears. The angel says "DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED. God has decided to bless YOU. You will be with child."
A simple Jewish girl is suddenly a knocked up virgin teen. This rock should've been her reality. Punishment for adultery was death. What did girl tell the angel? "I am the Lord's servant and am willing to accept whatever he wants." And the man pledged to marry her goes along with the plan and protects the girl. Do you think there was any gossip? Years of it. Jesus was known as the son of Mary and in not such a nice way. What virgin birth? The girl was raped. Her husband is too weak to have her stoned. What kind of family gets on despite ongoing pressures.
Is this just a cute toy set to look at.
What would Santa do? You know what Santa does with naughty people. Naughty people get blacklisted and then given a big piece of coal. Does Santa see the world more black and white than your nightmare fundamentalist? Are we giving him slack because we like that he drinks milk, eats cookies and likes to laugh. Do we really want someone that caters to wish lists than someone who'll listen and understand?
Maybe with these dark times, everyone would feel at peace if everyone was given a bail out. Isn't that the reason for the season... to have a savior?
Do you want to celebrate peace on December 25th? If you do, you might want to also celebrate peace despite confusion, fear, gossip... and perhaps take on the confidence of a very radical family who chose to be servants of a God that they believed nothing was impossible through.
A pregnant teen. A husband that doesn't put his wife to death. A child who's first bed is the feeding trough of animals who'll grow up to be hated and loved and the world won't be the same for it.
I think many of us have heard the christmas story packaged so cutely. From confusion and uncertainty... can we grasp the kind of trust it would take to accept all things in strength?. Life is not CUTE. Look at the economy, systems and agencies are falling.
Do I have a gift to trump the Jones and even Santa Claus in unromantizing christmas for you? (TAKE UP BOXES BIG AND SMALL) Are your thoughts on the season neatly packaged... and can fit in a tidy box like this. Or have I freed them up to help you wonder....
Wonder.
Wonder that even if life gets confusing and unsure everything is still good... and wonder about a trust that transforms people and lives.
Merry Christmas Fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests.
JNET
Your speech was so creative. You have some really interesting ideas, and your presentation was very artistic. I LOVED the nativity scene, and your 2 gift boxes.
ReplyDeleteI can always count on you to put "The Jeannette Spin" on everyday ideas and beliefs that most people seem to hold for no reason. You have a talent for taking some ordinary concept and picking it apart and challenging it.
Good work!!
Gordito
thanks...
ReplyDeletesorry i had to dash.. it was cindy's bday :)
was disappointed that i didn't win... wondering if my topics are a bit too.... out there. e mentioned that my speeches make people uncomfortable.
Hello, Baby!
ReplyDeleteYour topics are very unique. Please don't abandon them to talk about more mainstream ideas. To me, your topics are what interest me the most. I want to see what new ideas you come up with. You have a unique way of looking at the world, and if you change that, then JNET will die.
And besides, winning doesn't mean that the speech was better or more significant. It's a common situation that anything new and groundbreaking is likely to be received with mixed reactions, uncertainty, and even hostility. The fact that people are uncomfortable means that you are affecting them in a huge way with something different. And you are very different.
I have a gymnastics video which highlights the most significant gymnasts, and their performances, throughout the last half of the 1900s. The typical uneven bar routine in womens gymnastics used to consist of many separate elements with breaks between them. The very first woman gymnast to perform a near flawless, CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING, BEAUTIFULLY PERFORMED uneven bar routine during elite competition was given an incredibly low score. She was crying, and the audience was booing. The judges simply didn't know what to do with this new, unusual, different performance. They didn't know how to score it. Period.
So a low score, or the fact that another speech was considered "better" by the audience, does NOT necessarily mean that your topic was inappropriate, or that your speech wasn't as good. It may simply mean that it was so different, and the style of presentation so different, that the people judging simply couldn't apply their usual and customary ways of critiquing.
I think it's okay and advisable to check with your mentor about what improvements could have been made in your speech, but in no way do I think it's necessary to alter your individual, unique way of expressing yourself to fit what other people want to hear. To me, you are an artist, You create ways of thinking that, when expressed, demonstrate the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and artistic readings and concepts that you have experienced (and adopted) over the course of your life.
I feel very strongly that you should NOT change that just to win a ribbon.
Yes, your topics may make people uncomfortable. But remember you aren't there to give them comfort. You aren't there to adopt others' ways of thinking.
Your purpose is to learn and practice ways to effectively convey to others what YOU wish to express.
You are there to improve your communication skills, not to appease others, and not to just win a ribbon.
g
Here's a recording of my speech from Paul :)
ReplyDeletehttp://paulabramson.blogspot.com/2008/12/unromanticizing-christmas-by.html