The Liquid Kosmos

The blessed saga

I can't remember a time when I've been more inspired by Christmas. I am feeling the love at levels I didn't realize existed.

There is a lot to be thankful for, but I won't go into that here. Those lists are posted all over the Internet. Today, I think it's much more important to look at why we are, at certain times, more thankful than others. In my opinion, this year's "happy fuel" is the Holiday Tree controversy.

Now, I may be reaching here, but it seemed like after 9/11 our compassion meters were running at an all time high. We were hugging strangers and burning cell phone minutes on loved ones like they were going out of style.

But since that time, the polls show a rapid decline in the "thankful numbers." Almost like an addict dives back into their habit at twice the speed when they fall off the wagon. In this case the analogy would be a lack of compassion, followed by an unusual spike in love, then a plummeting dive off the human interest cliff.

We search for sources of motivation. Something that pushes us in a direction we really want to go, but just can't seem to find a solid reason to do it on our own. The heated debate about the Holiday/Christmas Tree has put our focus in the right place again.

Sure, on the surface, it seems like a tiny quarrel, but the ground swell has reminded us that we should probably look into each other's eyes and discuss what the Christmas/Holiday/Holy season really means. It's not about a tree or semantics, it's about us. People.

Everyone is quick to blame the Mayor for creating this controversy, but I say he (or the panel who decided to call it a Holiday Tree) deserves a round of applause. The decision has brought us all out of the "holiday closet" and as the saying goes, the only bad publicity is no publicity. If nothing else, the religious debate (centered around an innocent evergreen tree) has those strings of lights burning a little hotter this year.

Yeah, I hear what you're saying, "but who has the right to call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree when it is obviously a Christmas tree!" Well, everyone has that right and everyone has the right to call me an idiot.

So scream, cry, and rejoice. You are falling back in love with yourself and fellow humans. It is a great day in Mayberry and I think I will take a stroll down Main Street and sing old Beatles' songs that make me happy, even though I'm not sure what they mean.

posted by The Oscillator @ 11:30 AM