Guest Column by Darrell Dunn, Editor, The Weekly Bean
Charles Dickens didn’t know that when he sat down in 1843 to write A Christmas Carol,
that he was creating the world’s most effective self-help book disguised as a ghost story. Yet
despite its age, the novella remains amazingly relevant in today’s world, proving that human
nature, like leftover fruitcake, rarely changes.
Let’s consider Ebenezer Scrooge. He’s the modern archetype of every overworked,
intense, focused executive glued to their phone and utterly dismissive of imperfect humanity. We
all know a Scrooge. Dickens’ brilliance comes from how painfully accurate the character
remains. Scrooge is a timeless reminder that when life shrinks to spreadsheets and profit
margins, our hearts tend to do the same.
Today’s world, flooded with emails, economic pressures, and the irresistible temptation to
measure success solely in dollars, needs Scrooge’s journey more than ever. After all, if the Ghost
of Christmas Past visited us, half of us would be too busy scrolling to notice the supernatural
glow in the corner. And the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come? He’d probably have to schedule
his haunting via Google Calendar, and even then we’d ask if the meeting could “just be an
email.”
A Christmas Carol speaks to something profoundly human: the desire for second
chances. In a world that often feels rapid, relentless, and ruthlessly competitive, the story
reassures us that personal transformation is always possible, no matter how entrenched the
habits. Kindness does work.
Dickens also had strong opinions about social responsibility; opinions that remain
relevant. His London was full of poverty, overcrowded housing, and struggling families, and
although we may now buy lattes with names longer than his sentences, the core issues persist.
When Scrooge snaps, “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” he echoes the chilly
logic sometimes found in modern debates on social welfare. Yet Dickens delivers the message
with charm instead of a lecture. He invites us to think with both our head and our heart. The little
book nudges us to look beyond assumptions and see the people around us as human beings rather
than obstacles, stereotypes, or names on invoices.
And of course, there is the humor. Dickens understood that serious messages travel better
when wrapped in laughter. Today, when many conversations about societal issues become
polarized, the story’s lightness is refreshing. It’s a reminder that you can talk about compassion,
charity, and change without sounding like you’re delivering a sermon.
Ultimately, Dickens offers a simple but powerful message: we shape the world not
through grand gestures but through everyday compassion. It’s about choosing warmth over
coldness, connection over isolation, generosity over fear. In an age of global challenges, political
divisions, and inboxes that never reach zero, those small acts of humanity matter more than ever.
So yes, A Christmas Carol remains relevant—and not just because it gives us an annual
reason to eat cookies for breakfast. It endures because Dickens understood the human heart. He knew its flaws, its fears, its stubbornness—and its tremendous capacity for goodness. And he
knew that sometimes, it takes a few ghosts to remind us of that.
Read more: Guest Opinion – Christmas Movies
