It is still nearly a dozen days until Christmas as this week’s editorial is being typed, which really is the time when the season should be its brightest.
That does not mean getting hung up on the rather inane debate over whether happy holidays is an appropriate salutation or whether one must utter the words Merry Christmas in order to properly reflect the season.
Frankly in a world where we tend to increasingly sit at coffee shops and hockey arena engrossed in our cellphones, pausing long enough to raise our heads and converse with others by wishing them some happiness is a win for our society, the exact words of good wishes notwithstanding.
And, right now we could use a little more merriment in our world.
Too often we seem to be seeing the ugliness of the world seeping to the surface again.
There is the American president bullying a young activist named Times Person of the Year. You might not agree with Time’s choice, or the message climate activist Greta Thunberg has to say, but that doesn’t mean a man in the position of President Donald Trump should be mocking the young woman over social media. The action sends a dangerous message in terms of what should and shouldn’t be acceptable.
Closer to home a Yorkton teenager organized an LGBT Movie Night for those wanting a safe environment to get together. That simple effort was blatantly attacked on social media by a few who despite the season of goodwill to all spouted hate as though it was their personal gospel.
How is it that we are still plagued by so many ‘iscms’ in our world, hatred spewed at others because the colour of their skin does not match, their race, language, religion, sexuality are different.
Different has never meant wrong, but there are others who see it as just that, and because they see differences as wrong they foster hatred.
We, as a society in Canada, are perhaps better than most countries in terms of acceptance and understanding, but racism, religious distrust and ignorance regarding personal sexuality still exists in far too many quarters.
So as we settle in to enjoy the holiday that is Christmas for many of us, let us pause to remember the simple tenet of the season that hopes for peace on earth and goodwill to all.
