Arquivo para December 19th, 2024
Christmas and human dignity
19
Dec
It’s important that so many people and 
organizations think of people in situations of social vulnerability this holiday season. For those who are hungry or thirsty, nothing is more urgent than a plate of food and some water, but that’s not all.
The human dignity that has been lost in some way by people in situations of vulnerability: abandonment, cruelty or some kind of injustice, must be recovered in steps that go further than some leftovers from our tables.
There are truly religious institutions and sentiments among those who take seriously this commitment to recovering the dignity of these people, but we must remember that many even receive salaries and benefits for this promotion and forget about the dignity of these people, as absurd as it may seem, there is a welfare policy and sentiment that does not see the recovery of the dignity of these people.
A book written by Bertold Brecht “Romance of the three twenties” (Brecht, 1976) tells of an organization that distributed beggars throughout Germany in order to raise funds and trade with those who should have social protection and don’t (photo). The author’s aim was ideological.
The author’s aim was ideological, to show that there is a trade in poverty, but this thought can be extended to a broader sense, not just to help, but to restore the dignity that all people have, to give them back their citizenship and life.
Christmas recalls the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, where he couldn’t find a home, so the thought of the Savior’s birth is inalienable, thinking of the dignity of those who don’t have the warmth of a home. Remembering these people is a typical Christmas sentiment, but we need to go further than just a plate of food and a treat, we need to think of the dignity of these people and remind them that they are citizens and have human and civil rights.
We need to overcome the demagoguery of those who only think of helping those in vulnerable situations as “promotion”: alcoholism, drugs, homelessness or some kind of illness without the necessary public assistance.
Welfare also has this limit: it doesn’t see the human being beyond the vulnerable situation, it’s just a palliative that doesn’t restore sociability and dignity to vulnerable people.
May Christmas bring us hope for a society that does not abandon anyone, that goes beyond this festive season and sees the dignity of every person.
Brecht, B. Romance dos três vinténs (The Threepenny Novel). Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 1976.
