I love the holiday season. I love being bundled up inside with the wood stove going and a fresh blanket of snow across the ground. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, and celebrating the season with holiday lights and baked goods. I also enjoy the tradition of sawing down a tree and dragging it into my house. Finally, I thoroughly enjoy watching holiday-themed movies, including the countless versions of “A Christmas Carole” (the Muppets version being my favorite), “The Grinch,” “The Christmas Chronicles,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Assault on Precinct 13” (John Carpenter’s version, which is far superior to Die Hard), and even the classic “Santa’s Slay” featuring none other than Bill Goldberg as Saint Nick.

With the holidays and movies on my mind, I want to highlight some of Mackinac Center’s recommended polices that best correspond with classic holiday movies.

Sound energy policy

Joshua Antonini, in his blog post, “A brief case for electricity choice,” explains how “Michigan’s electricity is among the most expensive and least reliable in the country, and ratepayers have no option to take their business elsewhere.”

What better movie to elaborate on the themes of affordable and reliable energy than “Home Alone”? The entire premise of the movie — Kevin McCallister is left at home in a rush — is based on lack of reliable energy. The McCallister’s electrical lines are taken out by a fallen tree branch. This is why the Mackinac Center encourages Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to improve reliability by burying more of their exposed lines and restraining tree growth around those that remained exposed.

It's also clear that only through affordable and reliable energy is Kevin able to thwart the Wet Bandits — Harry Lyme and Marv Murchins. He uses electricity to make it seem like a party is taking place at the house. When Harry and Marv decide to try their chances again, Kevin uses a reliable electric grid in his defense. Remember the hot iron coming down the laundry chute, in comedic fashion, and the electric charcoal lighter on the door knob?

“Home Alone” shows the importance of a reliable grid to keep our alarm clocks and schedules running, and to keep burglars from robbing our houses.

Occupational licensing reform

Jarrett Skorup recently wrote a Mackinac Center policy brief, “Unlock Opportunity: How Michigan’s Laws Block Second Chances.” Skorup argues that Michigan’s 2020 licensing reforms, which extended new opportunities to people with criminal backgrounds, were a step in the right direct. But this licensing reform, he writes, should be extended to those who want to work in industries such as health care, law enforcement and education. Skorup summarizes his argument this way: “The government should not prevent someone from trying to find work and better his or her life just because of a criminal past.”

The state shouldn’t try to decide which career paths are acceptable for a person based on his or her past, even if it’s a checkered one. A small number of restrictions still make sense. If you’ve committed financial fraud, for example, you might not be allowed an accounting license. But blanket bans on occupational licenses for people with criminal backgrounds too often get in the way of Michiganders trying to turn their lives around and earn an honest buck.

And what better movie touches on the complicated themes of redemption and second chances (and second breakfasts) than the extended “Lord of the Rings” trilogy? Boromir becomes increasingly obsessed with claiming the ring for himself and falls into the shadow. It’s frustrating to watch him attempt to steal the ring from Frodo. But when he realizes what he has done, he rises up and lays down his life in an act of redemption that allows him to receive forgiveness from his brother, his captain, his king.

Then there is Theoden, who despite being overcome by ill counsel and wizardry, is set free and given another chance — a chance he uses to protect his people at Helm’s Deep before eventually charging into Mordor.

Even Frodo falters and needs redemption. On his way toward the fires of Mount Doom, he tries to keep the ring for himself. It’s only through fate that he finds himself saved despite falling into temptation. Those around him understand his actions and forgive him.

“Lord of the Rings” shows the importance of forgiveness and redemption. Like Skorup on licensing, it doesn’t shy away from showing how complex these issues can be.

(And yes, “Lord of the Rings” is a holiday movie, despite my wife’s claiming otherwise. It was released to theaters during the holiday season, and there’s snow in it!)

Educational choice

Molly Macek, in her blog post, “Michigan’s conflicted view of school choice,” notes that the state constitution prevents parents from exercising full school choice. “There is bipartisan support for state financial assistance to parents and students who choose to attend private preschools and colleges,” she writes. “Why should support for school choice stop once children enter kindergarten and only come up again when they graduate high school?”

Macek goes on to point out that more than half of Detroit’s students attend charter schools, where they “learn more than their peers enrolled in the neighboring district schools.”

I can think of no holiday movie better at touching on the importance of school choice than “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” We quickly learn that both Rudolph and Hermey the elf are very talented, but they’re being pushed into a mold that does not allow them to thrive. Rudolph is different from the others, and Hermey has no interest in the subjects he’s being taught; he would rather invest his time into being a dentist. The two, who have no other options, are left with no choice but to flee — taking them on a wild adventure through the North Pole.

They have to trust the quirky Yukon Cornelius and face the dangers of blizzards and an abominable snowman. All this could have all been prevented had the reindeer been taught to use their unique talents and celebrate their differences rather than being forced to go through the same training. If Hermey had been allowed the chance to learn a trade more suitable to him, things wouldn’t have been so difficult.

Wrapping up

Those are a few of the holiday movies I recommend that fit nicely with the Mackinac’s Center’s mission — and are a joy to watch. I hope they provide a window into understanding what it is we’re working to accomplish.

Whatever holiday you celebrate — if you even celebrate anything at all — I hope it’s full of well-deserved cheer.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.