A Christmas parable
The day before Christmas and across the land, the spirit of the season was nowhere to be found. Oh sure there were some places where the spirit prevailed, but in so many cases when shoppers ran, we lost the true meaning of Christmas and the goodwill towards everyone. The cold of the season has interrupted what should be the best time of year and yet for many it is just another day trying to survive. The winter winds are already hollowing out and cutting to the bone. Hopelessness and misery bring tears of pain and sorrow. The trampled masses whose burdens hang heavy have replaced what should be the one time of year when compassion, benevolence and humanity should shine.
As the clouds of uncertainty hang over our heads, a nation is fracturing under anguish. The anxiety of millions continues to mount. The political discord this season has brought unspeakable hostility rather than unity. With impeachment hearings already stalled and a presidential campaign in which some candidates continue to float, they have helped make this time of year one for the record books. Yet all for the wrong reasons, as this nation will remember at some point. History will not be kind when we look back at this time this year. Instead of unity, divisions increase. Instead of cohesion, we are detached. The vine of opportunity has long since dried up and died. Today, the confusion and mistrust between nations has already begun. It is this world we live in that has become so precarious. The climate change deniers who control much of the world have brought this planet too close to disaster. With the Republican mindset at stake across much of the nation, any progress toward that much-needed unity of purpose has been thwarted.
One can’t help but wonder what went wrong. It wasn’t so long ago that we said Merry Christmas to everyone and now we dare to say Happy Holidays instead. Since then we have lost the meaning of the spirit of the season. And in doing so, we see what has happened. It’s so sad because now all we see is a mad rush for all we see. The herds of people trampling every mall have made it very clear that we have become obsessed with things that really don’t make sense. So now that we don’t have the essence of this season, it’s no wonder as a nation our ability to put into practice the true meaning of the season has been lost.
As a new year begins where resolutions are made only to break down, we must not lose sight of what should really matter. This nation cannot survive as things are. The status quo has not worked and will not work tomorrow. We have to look back to a simpler time when we all said Merry Christmas and Happy New Year because it was those times that made things matter. How things have changed. The changes brought about by insincere policies and a sociological change. Together they have undermined our ability to understand what should really matter.
The spirit of the holiday season should be with us throughout the year. Returning to say and say Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays even though there are so many religions that we have to remember that we are all together in the communion of man. It is this Christmas spirit that understands that compassion, tolerance, benevolence and humanity are part of what this season is all about.