#BTColumn – Merry Christmas with a twist

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Sir Frank Peters

Friday, December 25, was Christmas Day, which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ on whom the Christian religion is based. We wish all our Christian readers worldwide a Merry Christmas and present to you this timely philosophical award-winning report by Sir Frank Peters.

To gain the full benefit of Sir Frank’s philosophical journey, imagine the year is AD 28 and you are in Jerusalem reading this report in a local newspaper. Its headline reads: Celebrities protest at celebrity ‘Thank You’ Awards ceremony – Jesus is undaunted by snub

by Ashikur Rahman

“What we allow to happen helps make us what we become.” – Frank Peters

The importance of showing appreciation can never be over emphasized.

JERUSALEM, Saturday: The prestigious presentation of the annually coveted ‘Thank You’ Awards took place here last night amidst a freak sandstorm that destroyed celebrity tents and caused a mass camel stampede.

Despite the adverse weather conditions, many thousands of adoring fans of all ages, braved the inhospitable elements and patiently gathered outside the famous Coliseum Entertainment Centre hoping to get a glimpse of their favourite gladiator, lion-tamer, and other luminaries from the worlds of entertainment, politics, and sport.

Superstar Jesus Christ, the tall, bearded, and handsome young philosopher attended the event after his capacity-packed ‘Sermon on the Mount’ performance at Woodstock Arena. It was there he recited his new run-away hit “The Lord’s Prayer” for the first time.

Jesus was expected to scoop the pool of awards, but very disappointedly succeeded in getting only one.

This angered the star-studded audience, who roared their disapproval and openly accused officials of rigging the results.

Popular Coliseum identity and entrepreneur Frank Peters, who walked out in protest during the awards ceremony, said he was “shocked, outraged, and saddened” that Jesus had received only one ‘Thank You’ award despite having saved the lives of ten lepers.

Jesus, who wore a loose-fitting seamless red robe, handmade by his mother, Mary, showed no surprise or anger and sat meditatively throughout the supercharged controversial proceedings.

“I am not as forgiving as Jesus,” said Mr Peters, who was visibly upset. “Without doubt, this has been the greatest travesty of justice of the century, which will abhor many generations to come,” he told a media conference this morning.

“If this gifted young man cannot receive even a ‘Thank you’ for every life he restores, there is little or no hope for any of us ever being thanked for anything that we would do. How could our deeds ever match his?” he said, stamping the table with his clenched fist.

“This has created a precedent of the worst kind,” he continued. “It’s a heartbreaking, absurd thought, but it’s now crystal clear to me that unless we wish to face disappointment, nobody should ever expect a ‘thank you’  from anyone — EVER!

“It is a black day in our history. A great injustice has been caused to Mr Jesus Christ, which reflects poorly upon all of us individually and collectively. What we allow to happen helps make us what we become,” he added.

Bad manners

Professor Aadib Tanveer, a human behavioural analyst from Palestine University, told Please Magazine that bad manners in general were a flaw of character, but not confined just to lepers.

“It is common, particularly in inner tent areas, but the main cause is substandard education,” he said.

“Expressing thanks is no longer the norm. Sadly, it’s a sign of the times, which we must learn to accept and live with. There will be some people who will always keep the tradition alive, but we should not expect too much from people unable to experience thanksgiving. Generous allowances must be made for the unaware and uneducated and we must teach by example.

“I feel the man they call Jesus would act in that way,” said Professor Aadib. Mr Peters said he would continue to thank those to whom he’s grateful irrespective of the current trends that he finds inexcusable and deplorable.

“A gesture of kindness extended is a previous ‘thank you’ remembered,” he said.

It was mooted earlier this year to make the prestigious ‘Thank You’ Awards an all-Europe event and include Syria, Damascus, and other countries in the voting, but the fiasco last night appears to have dampened the enthusiasm of some pro-European organisers.

Most officials today were being very tight-lipped about the future of ‘Thank you’ in general as the most appropriate expression of gratitude despite its financially economic attributes.

One well-known councillor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Please: “The fabric of society on the whole is fraying at the ends. The ‘Thank you’ controversy is another indication of this sorrowful erosion and, yes, it’s sad … very sad.

“It should be made abundantly clear, however, that under the rules of the existing honours system Mr Jesus Christ could have won at least ten ‘Thank You’ awards, if not more, but the reality is, he was only nominated for one by one leper.

“We must always remember, it’s the sole moral responsibility of the beneficiary of any kindness or courtesy, big or small, to thank the benefactor and of no one else,” he said.

Jesus, who was distributing clothing and food to the homeless and disadvantaged people in outer villages today, was not available for comment.

Sir Frank Peters is an award-winning writer, former publisher of magazines and newspapers, a humanitarian and a senior adviser to European and Saudi royalty.