It is December once again, and the Holidays are fast approaching. I personally love this time of year, as it is one of the few times I get to see my family. Most people really do share my opinion, even though it can be very hectic. We have to brave the mall in order to buy gifts for our friends and loved ones. Many people travel, and they have to set up those plans. We have to cook lots of food but also get to make really tasty treats. We have to put up decorations both inside and out and we have to buy a tree (I personally prefer live trees). Getting the tree can be a pain, but putting it up and decorating it is a blast.
We get to sing carols and make lasting memories. We get to play in the snow and ride sleds down the hill. We get lots of cool presents and cards and we get time off of school and work. Cold nights are spend in front of a crackling fire, perhaps snuggling up with your significant other. People walk around in Santa hats and tacky Christmas sweaters. I could go on and on, but there is really only one other image I want to put here, and that is the Salvation Army person we see outside all the stores ringing the bell this time of year.
Now, I’m not going to write a diatribe on not being charitable, at least not financially (though personally I put money in the kettle every time I see them). What I really want to talk about is the underlying message of that donation; it is a message that we are bombarded with from all sides around the holidays: spreading love, peace and goodwill. We hear this message in every Christmas carol, both directly and indirectly. But there was a line I heard the other day that really said it all for me. I was watching the Peter, Paul & Mary Holiday concert and the first song they sang was a rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, within which there was an added bridge that went like this:
Once in a year, it is not thought amiss
To visit our neighbors and sing out like this.
Of friendship and love, good neighbors abound
And peace and goodwill the whole year around.
Pace! Shanti! Salud! Shalom!
The words mean the same, whatever your home
Why can’t we have Christmas the whole year around?
Why can’t we have Christmas the whole year around?
Those, honestly, are beautiful lyrics as they carry so much meaning. They state very concisely what the real meaning of the holidays is, and that is to love your fellow man, be he your best friend, neighbor, that random homeless guy at the bus station or the drunk at the bar; this is the truth. But why are we only obligated to do this once a year, and for that matter, why are we obligated anyway? Why is it that we only need to be “nice” to each other around the holidays?
Read those lyrics again. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
*Twiddles thumbs and whistles*
Done? Okay, now I want you to see what those lyrics actually say; they in fact say that as long as we are kind to each other once a year, that’s good enough for the rest of the year.
Wait, what?
What kind of bullshit is that? Have we really become that jaded and bitter and selfish? Why in fuck has something as simple as being kind and showing a little love become such a damned obligation? Furthermore, how in the hell does being kind to a couple of people at Christmas make up for the rest of the year?
Now, I’m not trying to ruin anyone’s holidays or spirits, but this is something I think really needs to be talked about. When we are children, we are taught that all men are created equal and that we should treat everyone with love and respect and always be willing to help someone out. But somewhere along the way, we become “adults”; we decide to just worry about ourselves and our families and let everyone else work things out for themselves. We see that the world is a dark, scary place and that everyone has to just do the best that they can.
Bullshit.
We made this world EXACTLY what it was and is, and it will continue to be this way unless we open our eyes and change it; frankly, we have no right to complain about it. We live in a world full of violence and unspeakable acts of horror because we made it that way and this is NO RATIONALIZATION. Humans are capable of great compassion, yes, but we are also capable of being absolutely horrible to our fellow man.
The fact is, the world today was born out of our drive to be better than anyone else, and this applies to both individual people and to countries. The United States is a prime example of this; all the time I hear politicians saying that we must do this and that so that we can remain the powerhouse of the world. Who gives a flying fuck? Why the hell do we need to be the best? Why do we always have to be better than the person next to us? Since when did having a massive superiority complex become the defining quality of being human? We claim to be so civilized, but we’re still killing each other every day over how to divide land and resources and what we believe is right. We send troops in to destroy those who don’t think like us. How can we tolerate murder and still have the gall to call ourselves civilized?
TV shows and movies talk about what it is to be human; they talk about the wonderful qualities that we possess. But in real life, we aren’t seeing those qualities because the bad ones overshadow the good ones. I can guarantee that the amount of good deeds done every day outnumber the bad things that happen a thousand to one easily. But that’s not enough. They need to outnumber a billion to one before the bad things stop happening, and this is not as tall an order as you might think.
The first step is to stop being such arrogant, greedy, xenophobic bastards and start thinking of others for a change. There is so much we can and need to do for this world, and it starts with each one of us. Confucius said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single footstep; in this case, it starts with one person being brave enough to share love with everyone they meet. If one person does it, more will follow, like a giant game of follow the leader. And if we can keep it up, we can show the world that greed and arrogance will no longer be tolerated. We need to show the world that the daily acts of cruelty and hatred must be stopped. Read those lyrics above once more; they ask why we can’t have Christmas the whole year around. The fact is, we can, because Christmas is about loving, caring, peace and ridding ourselves of hatred, intolerance, greed and arrogance. We can have that all year around if we actually try. Don’t think that being nice in December is good enough for the whole year. I implore each and every one of you to do everything you possibly can to spread love and peace the whole year round; visit your friends and neighbors every day, go everywhere with a smile on your face and a song in your heart so that you can brighten anyone’s day.
As Vash The Stampede from my favorite anime Trigun likes to say, “This world is made of . . . LOVE AND PEACE!” This is true in more ways than I could list here, but we are all here because of the supreme act of love. Somewhere along the way, we close off our hearts and became afraid to open them again.
This is the time to open them. Go out and open your hearts and show everyone that it’s alright, that they needn’t be afraid. Always be willing to sacrifice something to help someone out. Somewhere along the way, sacrifice has taken on an almost negative connotation; on the contrary, to sacrifice means to give something up so that something better can take its place, meaning to give up something, even something you treasure, will not only help someone else out, it will help you out as well.
These feelings run rampant this time of year. I ask all of you to walk with me and help me spread these feelings all year, every year. The journey won’t be easy, but it must be done not only for the good of mankind, but for the planet as well. Delivering this message of love, peace, harmony and goodwill will kindle a mutual respect forgotten for thousands of years. The time to rediscover it is now.
I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday season, and I look forward to walking with you all in the coming years to spread this message.
