Reflections on Christmas Day
It’s Christmas morning as I write this. I see Jeff Tiedrich (who flatteringly quoted one of my articles earlier this year!) just sent out a hilarious Christmas message: “To all my friends and followers, Merry Christmas. To all you dipshits who think the war on Christmas is a real thing, happy holidays.”
Contrary to the Republican insistence that they somehow own Christmas, today is a day for everyone who wants it. I certainly do. Just because I no longer subscribe to the religious, manmade dogma sometimes associated with this day doesn’t mean it cannot be joyful and have special meaning for me and people like me. And so it does.
But I leave it to the strict, self-righteous followers of a Jew to be antisemitic. I leave it to the strict, self-righteous followers of a man who is purported to have said “love thy neighbour as thyself” to be full of hate.
Yes, I leave it to the strict, self-righteous followers of a man who welcomed foreigners, who cared for the poor, who condemned the love of money, who spoke out against vengeance, who warned of a man who would one day lead them astray, I leave it to those strict, self righteous followers of that man to also hate immigrants, to abandon the poor, to admire the wealthy, to promise revenge against Democrats and their other critics, to worship a man who is exactly like someone they once called Antichrist but now call Trump. I leave all those hypocrisies to all those people who have so earnestly fought for the right to be called hypocrites.
Just as all serious, qualified Shakespeare academics believe Shakespeare was a real person who really wrote the plays associated with him, virtually all serious, qualified scholars of ancient history and literature believe Jesus of Nazareth was a real person who actually existed, and who said and taught many of the things ascribed to him. Whether or not he was the son of God is a point of controversy. Whether or not he did magical things is a point of controversy.
I have no position on the magical stuff. But I do believe Jesus and his revolutionary teachings of peace and universal fellowship are real and worthy of respect. That is what this day is about. That is why this day is so inclusive of all people. That is why on this day of all days I can say to you, whoever you are and whatever you believe, without fear of being misunderstood, “Merry Christmas, happy new year, peace on earth and goodwill to all living things on this beautiful home we call earth.”
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.