It’s sad, I think, that the contrived “battle” between the greetings “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” came to such an ugly head this year.

And it’s a shame to hear and read invective being spewed all around by the all-around righteous, though, one is compelled to add, it’s not surprising that the most noxious of flames have come from the mouths of our culture’s self-styled guardians of truth and grace.

And yet there’s this, wisely, from the editors of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “[I]t begins with a semi-valid grievance: Liberals of a certain rationalist bent can be insulting to religious faith, smugly equating it with superstition.”

Tell me about it. Would there were an atheist liberal blogger or two who gave me as much respect on this issue as I give them in return. Alas, I travel to their sites only to be mocked.

But let us not allow this manufactured conflict to distract us from the spirit of the day, regardless of one another’s beliefs or each other’s observation, or the lack thereof, of this or any other holiday, religious or secular.

May we remember that the well being of friends, family, neighbors, community, and humanity are, or should be, foremost in our minds, or the consciousness of those of us who are not beholden to ideological or theological agendas.

It’s not Thanksgiving, but among those in my life to whom I am especially grateful this Christmas Eve, for a variety of and various reasons, include: L.A.-G., S.K.A., C.F.C., P.M.C., M.D., D.E., L.H., C.M.K., R.J.L., S.M., C.C.P., and B.P.

I cannot thank you enough.

City Hall
Philadelphia
1900

Also on my mind this evening are the service people, reservists, and national guard members stationed in and near Iraq.

An especially loud shout-out this Christmas and New Year’s goes to the 427th Transportation Co., based in nearby Norristown, Pa., a unit proudly and ably performing extremely difficult tasks in Iraq, responsibilities I’m happy to say have been made more secure as a result of the Army’s recent up-armoring of every critical vehicle in the 427th’s fleet of trucks.

About that at least, I am very pleased. Stay safe, guys.

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