What's the issue ... really?

Some of you are asking yourself, I'm sure: "What's the big deal?" or "Just what is he going on about?" Those are good questions, really. And I have to tell you, it's a cultural thing.

I hail, originally, from a country in which they think there's a War on Christmas. This isn't really all that surprising when you consider just how warlike this country is. They can't really do anything very well anymore, but they still wage war. That Christmas would eventually become a target of this aggression should be no surprise to anyone.

Once we all get off our high horses and realize that historically this has been a time of year for celebration, and for whatever reason another religion has a big holiday around the same time, then there really shouldn't be such a fuss when one uses the more inclusive "Happy Holidays" as a greeting, instead of "Merry Christmas". There are, however, more than a few people in my home country who find this offensive. It's important for them that they be Number 1 (whether they mean themselves, their own groups, their country or their religion ... being Number 1 is very, very important to them). They believe that they have every reason to be first, and everyone else should come after. I can understand that ... to a point.

It turns out that the individual whom they hold in such esteem - allegedly - that they can't bear being number-anything-but-1 turns out to be an individual who proclaimed that at best, you're Number 2, if you buy into the system he's propagating, you're Number 3. Bummer, isn't it? Yes, a real downer. How do you deal with that?

For those of you who have been following, I decided to take him at his word: the individual about whom we're all excited at this time of year laid out very clearly the order of things: Gd-Others-Self. Believe me, I'm anything but a fan of hierarchy, and that's what the "list" sounds like, but when considered a bit of closer, it's simply a matter of priorities, that's all. I even went to some effort to point out that you don't have to take him to be what others claim he is to see there's a lot to be said for putting others (regardless of whether you include Gd or not) first. And it's this simple fact that is the source of a whole pile of problems.

It's no wonder - at least not to me - that there is all kinds of distractions at this time of year: gifts, shopping, circuses, events, singing, spending money, outdoing the neighbors with decorations, you name it. It is absolutely essential that we divert our attention from what this whole thing is supposed to be about, namely rethinking how it is that we approach life.

Yes, that's what it boils down to: asking ourselves if we're really acting the way we should. The simple truth is "no".