With the holiday season upon us, it seems like Christmas music is blasting on sound systems everywhere: at home, in the mall, at the gas pump, on the radio and more. Here in America, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is a popular song which seems to get considerable airplay.
While driving to a client meeting recently, the song came on the radio. As I sang along with the radio, I began to listen to the words.
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
you know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
But do you recall?
The most famous reindeer of all?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Has a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?
Then all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer
You’ll go down in history!
Wait! The reindeer bullied Rudolph because he looked different than the other reindeer in his community? It is only after Santa asks for Rudolph’s help that the reindeer decided that, no, in fact, they loved his red nose. How transparent! How selfish.
As that little observation settled in, I switched a classic rock station.
