A season to come together

Let's set aside the rage machine, even if just temporarily

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

By Jim LaJoie

This is the time of year when three important holidays are being celebrated. Although all three are, of course, different, what Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa have in common is the spirit of community. It is a time meant for family and friends to come together, to embrace the themes of love, goodwill and hopefulness reflected in each holiday.

These days, regrettably, families and friends coming together is often fraught with tension and ending in hostility, a product of our current vitriolic national climate.

I am writing this a day after another school shooting, this time in Madison, Wisconsin. It is the 323rd school shooting this year, according to the Milwaukee journal Sentinel Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Let that sink in: 323.

I am writing this on a day that one side of the political divide has a sense of pending doom for the coming year, on the other, a palpable sense of vengefulness toward half its fellow citizens. I am writing this on a day that our country is in a state of deep malaise, a nearly nihilistic temperament, where hope and goodwill would be mocked by many. We as a people are far from embracing the foundational themes of the three holidays.

Wouldn’t it be nice, naive as it may be, to see a majority of Americans set aside the rancor for even just a few weeks? To fully embrace the holiday season and its true meaning? To set aside the rage machine that is tearing us apart, even if just temporarily? What if we committed ourselves to being better than this?

Let’s commit to not listening to the fury peddlers for a few weeks.

Let’s commit to focusing on what unites us, not divides.

Let’s commit to setting aside any hostility we feel toward others based solely on their political views.

Let’s commit to one act of kindness during this holiday season.

Let’s commit to setting aside our differences during a time that calls for love and goodwill.

Let’s actually live out the ideals of this holiday season. Maybe, just maybe, that positive energy will carry forward into 2025. That would be a holiday wish I would like to see granted.

About the author: Jim LaJoie is incurably optimistic.