BY BUDD SCHROEDER
Time to prepare for the Christmas celebration! We hope that all who have families will be together to enjoy the festivities and can share all the special feelings that the season should bring. The chances are great that the Christmas will be white. After all, this is Western New York and a lack of snow in December is not the norm.
While many are greatly concerned about global warming, or more politically correct to call it climate change, those of us who reside here get tired of freezing temperatures before the official Winter has ended. In fact, most of us who are not into winter sports would be happy if it was a really mild winter.
The snow has beauty and looks nice from the inside of a warm home, but the task of shoveling snow really doesn’t have much appeal to those who have spent numerous winters clearing driveways and walkways. Then there is the risk of the icy ground which tends to get slippery and accidents do happen. We watch the TV commercials from lawyers who tell the audience that if you fall, give them a call and you will “get the money you deserve” minus one-third of the settlement.
Of course the split of the settlement is not mentioned, but they do tell you that they don’t get paid until you do. That is probably the fairest way to do business. There was a recent story over the Internet that claimed that America has five percent of the world’s population and 65 percent of the world’s lawyers. America must have a lot of people getting “the money they deserve.”
That is a negative thought for the Christmas Holiday. People should be thinking happy thoughts about the tree, the dinner, and the exchange of gifts. The best part is that often people come from distances to celebrate a family affair and that can be the most precious gift of all. Many people do not have the opportunity or means to do so and that is a shame.
For those of us who care, we can give to charitable organization like the Salvation Army and other groups who will provide dinners and often gifts for children and the needy to make the holiday cheerful. Those who provide the funds should realize that is the true spirit of Christmas. To help those in need is the word and the work of Jesus whose birthday we celebrate. It would be truly wonderful if that spirit lasted all year long. Fortunately, there are those who practice the principle of “love thy neighbor” for the total year.
We look forward to the approaching new year and will also celebrate that. So far, the Republicans are doing more celebrating on that subject than the Democrats. The Christmas spirit is definitely not being observed in the media as they describe the coming events. At the end of the election, there were those who gave speeches on how the nation must come together and unite for the good of the country and society. Many are not doing that.
As the time progresses we have to endure the slings and arrows of the sore losers and especially from those in the media. There is nothing gentle with the accusations and criticisms of cabinet appointments or proposed programs. The spin doctors are busier than the top makers. Kind words are not part of their program and some are actually viscous. Time will tell who was right, but in the meantime the old adage “if it bleeds, it leads.” is the battle cry for the commentators.
Comments by a politician in jest, will be twisted and mangled into a politically incorrect insult. Fake news is now sneaking into the mix to further confuse and incite the public. Truth is relative to the perception and in politics, perception IS reality. We are the only ones who can change it by objecting to the political lies and making it unprofitable to tell them.
If the messenger lies, maybe we should kill the messenger by not believing him or paying attention to his creative ability to twist the truth. The commentators make a living by people paying attention to what they say or write. Ask Brian Williams what happened to his career when he decided to lie to his audience. Even Santa Clause couldn’t give him the gift of credibility to save his job. If more of the biased commentators were called out and not watched or read, the problem would be solved.
So, during this season of joy and caring, it would be a great idea to focus on the great gifts we have of family and friends who care about us and we should express our love and friendship for them. Look at the season as a lesson that should carry on and we should discriminate against the negative fools who try to diminish our happiness. We should also focus on the good words:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And “Love thy neighbor as yourself.” Those two concepts said by He whose birthday we celebrate, would certainly solve the unrest in the world. So, from this columnist, Merry Christmas, and God Bless You.
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