Belated Yuletide Greetings

My Internet connection wasn't working for the last couple of days which kept me away from here. Maybe that's a good thing, but now I'm back. Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday in which the community of believers celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
This was one of the nicest holidays I've ever had and the main reason is that I didn't worry about presents that much. Not that I want them, but it's such a stress to provide things we think that people want but probably don't but you still need to do some obligatory thing for them. My neighbors showed true Christmas spirit and made things, mainly goodies for one another or celebrated by having parties with eats and drinks and the opportunities for people to celebrate their friendships. Those are great presents. My wife and I also loved seeing our little son begin to see the wonder of presents and family and big parties and to-dos of the season. My father always said that Christmas was for the children and I got to see that this year. We bought him his favorite toy that he loves at daycare and to see his face light up when we opened the box for him was worth the entire holiday.

Now, musings on our wonderful country:
A story from the SF Chron from 12/23 reported the yearly charitable givings of Americans by socio-economic groups and wouldn't you know it, middle-class Americans out-give rich people, giving $1 to every wealthy 50 cents? Good to know, considering the rich have been given the greatest amount of tax breaks that haven't been extended to the middle class? So, if the wealthiest of Americans (in this study, they were defined as those making $250,000 to $10 million yearly) have received the greatest tax cuts ("death" tax, capital gains, 4/15 slashes) that weren't given to the middle class, technically, middle class Americans are out-giving on a $4/$1 ratio. That's absolutely pathetic. So, while the rich are using their government subsidies, handouts, handbacks or welfare programs (you choose the name)to make themselves wealthier, the middle is taking its paltry tax cuts and giving it to those less fortunate. And considering that the middle class does not possess the same amount of liquid assets that allow for tax loopholes and breaks, they shoulder a greater amount of the tax burden compared to the rich who can bury their wealth in their investments or businesses and live on "bonusses." God bless us, every one.
I do respect Time Magazine's choices for Persons of the Year. Bono's selection for his continued raising of awareness of Third World Debt, poverty and AIDS relief. Didn't know anything about it? Do your homework. You'll see that a self-proclaimed spoiled rich rock star with a Jesus complex is out there doing more for the ending of modern scourges than probably anyone else out there. And he's not preaching just before he launches into another rock anthem at his overpriced concerts, he's meeting with heads of state and religious leaders who can actually do something about it. God bless him. Melinda and Bill Gates are also worthy of recognizing this year. The couple vowed to give away half of his fortune by his retirement age and he's done a good job so far of doing so. Raising awareness and making efforts to stem world poverty and disease, this couple is truly putting its money where their mouths are. May the B and M Gates Foundation continue to make a positive impact on earth. Not even the inept Red Cross can compete with Bill.

Has there been a declared winner in the "War over Christmas"? I didn't know that there was such an issue in our country about trying to wipe Christmas off the face of the earth in this country but Fox News, Bill O'Reilly and other self-proclaimed indignant demagogues have proclaimed this culture anti-Christian. They complain that businesses greet customers with "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" and certain civil and civic groups have not displayed Christmas Trees but removed the foliage altogether or renamed them "holiday firs" or the like. Political correctness aside, today marks the end of one religious holiday but also the start of another, Hanukkah. Kwanzaa's not a religious holiday per se but does deserve to be mentioned as numbers of Americans recognize and celebrate it as well. Why should Christians possess the monopoly on the season's greeting? Are we that self-absorbed that we fail or just choose not to include other peoples of other faith in the celebration of their religious or cultural holidays? So, as one Christian group is vowing to do next year, certain Christians are choosing not to buy presents for each other. This purported goal is to drive the American economy to its knees in order for businesses to reverse course on the "purging" of the holiday. Isn't this ironic that people of a particular religious faith are more worried about their power as consumers instead of inherents of their religious teachings? Didn't Jesus drive the money lenders and business people from the temple as he felt they were making society more money driven than religiously-based? Is not the love of money the root of all evil? And yet, American Christians (which, according to the label values the two instititutions as ONE) want the right to have stuff on sale, in order to spend and spend and spend and spend and spend in order to promote the values of Christmas, which are that it is better to receive than give, that friendship and family are shown primarily in the giving of material possessions instead of good works, that children should be given everything they ask for, and that every business must remember that the purpose of running a business is to keep in mind the religious beliefs of some of its clientele in order to marginalize and possibly offend others. As far as I'm concerned, to Hell with the American secularization of Christmas, the gawdy lights and inflatable snow-people, stupid blinking lights and crappy junk food, the demand for tons of presents (which, aren't we as Americans spending too much and not saving enough for our futures anyway?) and the stores and malls catering to our insecurities of gift-giving. Shouldn't Christians who wish to recognize and absorb the true holiness of the season give to the needy (the orphans and widows, especially?), spend time with loved ones, go to church and teach our children the purpose of the holiday, light candles and sing and pray, kiss our family members and tell them they love them as God wishes and wants for us to do? Whether or not Jesus was born on December 25th, in an animal pen, in Bethlehem or Nazareth, on 0 A.D., 1 A.D., or 7-3 B.C., (or B.C.E., for us secularists), the purpose of the season and its holiday is to recognize God's love of humanity, humanity's love of God and humanity's faith and hope that we as humans have something and someone in which to aspire; that we should but more importantly, can be and find better in this world than all of the garbage we bring on ourselves.

May everyone truly find and experience the true meaning of the holidays, whether we are Christians, Jews, people of other faith and those of no faith. Holidays and celebrations are for us to find the better angels of our nature. Now, get to the malls and take advantage of those after-Christmas sales!!! I wear large and my favorite color's blue.