Every Christmas, I find myself thinking about a conversation with my friend Jennifer a couple of years ago. We were gearing up for a fight to save the ACA (Obamacare, if you will) and the holidays were approaching. Jennifer commented on the missed opportunity to play off of Tiny Tim from “A Christmas Carol.”
Tiny Tim…
Though he is a major character with a huge role in that tale, we don’t see him much. We see glimpses of his optimism, despite walking with a crutch. He is cheerful, resilient, and wise beyond his years. It is him, after all, who shows Scrooge the consequences of his actions, but what does he show us?
The Cratchit family is struggling financially, and Tiny Tim’s health adds to that strain. Now, as we close out 2020, we probably all know a Cratchit. I mean, I can name three right off the top of my head without any effort. There are families out here who have to work at staying just poor enough so that their child can have medical insurance. A friend of mine has a child with Hemophilia A whose meds, in a normal month with no emergency bleeds, cost $60,000 … $60,000 a month to keep her young son alive. I’m familiar with another family whose young son’s life sustaining insulin costs $3,000 a month. If you would ask around, you’d run across someone who is in the same type of financial wrestling match, and now there’s a pandemic to the mix.
Tiny Tim’s dad works in what I assume isn’t an entry level job. I say this because he seems to know how to crunch the numbers for Scrooge, which is a skill. He sits in the cold dark at his desk because his boss expects long hours. There’s no union to protect Cratchit. I imagine there aren’t any workplace protections, such as paid sick days or health insurance, probably no retirement. And here’s something else I’ve noticed: never, in all the years that I’ve watched “A Christmas Carol,” has anyone ever said that Cratchit should choose a different profession.
No one has said that low-wage jobs are not intended to sustain someone, let alone a family, which are things that I’ve been told about myself and millions of others; instead, we allow ourselves to feel empathy for Bob Cratchit. We see the unfairness of his situation, which is exasperated by his son’s health problems. We feel sorry for them.
And we take that a step further by placing the blame on Mr. Scrooge rather than the Cratchits, which probably strikes me the most. Instead of blaming the family for their struggles, we find ourselves realizing that the Cratchits are suffering more than they should because of Scrooge’s policies. Granted, the tale is designed to evoke those feelings, but what if we stepped away from the story and took a long look around our own communities, at our neighbors?
Now, as we rush into the pandemic holiday season, we are seeing the effects of Scrooge-like policy. We are losing our loved ones to this virus for a lot of reasons, but some communities, especially black and brown ones, are disproportionately losing lives. It’s the groups with a history of low-wage jobs and lack of healthcare that are hurting the most. Too many of us are afraid of becoming Tiny Tim.
And yet, off screen, we continue to blame each other for our hardships. We tell our neighbors they need to work harder and get a better job, as if living from paycheck to paycheck is honestly someone’s dream.
Scrooge was touched by Tiny Tim’s optimism and ability to be happy despite his struggles. There was something about the young boy that touched his heart, and, when shown that he died, Scrooge did a complete 360 and changed his ways. The story shows Scrooge providing charity for the Cratchits by way of a free turkey, but he extends the aid to include…wait for it…a raise for Bob.
Scrooge’s heart was changed, making it obvious that Mr. Cratchit needed more than just a free turkey; rather, he used his privilege to meet an immediate need and then provided the means for Cratchit to take better care of his family. So why aren’t we so tired of being Scrooged that we demand change? When are we going to start speaking up and telling our government that we’re out here like the Cratchits?
Whether it’s job loss or illness, food insecurity or housing crises, we’re not okay, and we deserve a helluva lot more than a $600 stimulus payment.
This Christmas season, let’s talk about long-term solutions rather than band-aid fixes. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being Scrooged.
Have a blessed and safe holiday.
Amy Jo
