What Have the Wise Men Wrought?

By Jerry Newcombe

Two thousand years ago, wise men (Magi---from which we get the word “magic”) from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus.

Christians have been giving gifts at Christmastime since then, and millions of others have joined in the merriment.

But last Friday was an embarrassment.

So-called “Black Friday,” the big shopping day right after Thanksgiving, was marked by mobs, occasional violence, and rudeness that have nothing to do with the origins of the tradition.

The retailers are apparently happy, overall, because the sales were big and booming. They were record this year. That’s great for the economy. But it’s so sad to see us becoming such a rude nation.

Two hundred years ago, in pre-Victorian England, some activists (such as William Wilberforce) pushed for what they called “the reformation of manners.” The modern translation of that would be “the reformation of morals.” There is a link between manners and morals.

We’ve certainly lost both nowadays, it seems.

We are truly descending into a new incivility that is shocking sometimes.

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