Published Dec. 21, 2003 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
We all know the story. Rudolph the reindeer is born with a glowing, red nose in a society of elitist ungulates. He is deemed an outcast, until he bails out the entire Santa Claus regime on a foggy Christmas Eve. From that point forward he gets to lead Santa’s sleigh team.
Good for Rudolph, right? I don’t know. I caught the classic animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special the other day, and I can’t help but feel that Rudolph still got the shaft on this whole deal.
If you watch this show, you see that Santa, the reindeer community and even Rudolph’s own parents are all ashamed of his bright red nose. It isn’t until Rudolph can deliver something for them (i.e. light on a dark night) that they begin to change their perceptions of him.
My question is this – what if Rudolph was an outcast not because of a glowing nose, but because was an albino? Suddenly, he’s no help on a foggy night. Do the other reindeer ever realize that it is still wrong to reject him just because he looks different? I’m not so sure, at least based on my interpretation of the original Burl Ives show.
It is quite possible that after seeing the Rudolph holiday special for the one-millionth time that I am merely reading too much into what is ultimately a show starring moving chunks of clay. But if I were Rudolph, I’d be pretty ticked if the only way I could get respect is to allow my most unique quality be exploited for the benefit of those who shrieked at my appearance just moments earlier.
I’m a little touchy, perhaps. You see, I commute through the Duluth area three times a week and at least two radio stations there have devoted their entire schedule to holiday music for the past several weeks. Since most other radio stations play one song for every 15 minutes of inane banter, I have been forced to overdose on Christmas music. There are only so many times you can hear the story of Rudolph before you realize the reindeer is having it done to him by the Man.
To be fair, the Rudolph story represents the commercial exploitation of Christmas. There are many other parts of the holiday season that bring a lot more warm fuzzies.
When you get down to it, overdone commercialization ruins a lot of good things. The music industry, the American political system and even the food we eat have all been unpleasantly influenced by this phenomenon.
We’ve in the midst of a great season, where families come together and communities start thinking about those less fortunate. The religious and spiritual significance of the holidays are also coming to light.
Unfortunately, if you decide to scale back your observance of the commercialized holiday, you start to get looks like you have a glowing red nose latched onto the front of your face. It shouldn’t be like that. A string of lights or a story of Santa and his reindeer is one thing – but the lavish expectations now being associated with the gifts and appearances of Christmas are getting out of hand.
Here’s hoping you and yours have a holiday filled with all the good things – family, togetherness and thoughts of what truly matters in our lives. If your cumbersome red nose does indeed glow, here’s hoping that society learns to accept you for who you are and that you lead the sleigh not to fit in, but because you want to help.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for The Daily Tribune.