With the election over – will Christmas help?

Shannon Bohrer

(12/2018) The elections are over and Christmas is on its way. Hopefully Christmas will elevate our moods and put the stress associated with the elections behind us. Of course while the campaigns can be annoying, they reflect our democracy in action in that we get to elect our representatives, providing all the votes are counted. I hope that most of you are satisfied with the outcomes, even if not all of your candidates were successful. I was pleased, with only a few exceptions.

Many of us like it when the campaigning ends because the negative campaigning can be depressing. In many of the political advertisements the candidates often tell us why the other candidate, or person in office, is not fit for the position. Telling us how bad the opponents are seems to be the norm in politics. It must be effective since it appears to be so common. Of course, what we often see and hear are opposing descriptions of two people, that if the descriptions were correct, neither one should be elected.

This year’s election seemed to amplify our differences more so than I remember is previous elections. Considering how bad some previous elections were, saying this years were worse - says a lot. I don’t ever remember so many individuals in public life being vilified for words spoken and association with a particular political party, or candidate. As citizens we do have the right to free speech, but the degrading behavior seemed magnified this year. The negative tones in our politics can be depressing and is not conducive to behavior of what many say is our better nature. Do we really have a better nature, or, do we like conflict and having an enemy? Will Christmas bring out our better nature?

Some behavior demonstrated during the election seemed to appeal to our desire for conflict. Elected officials were having meals in restaurants when they were verbally harassed by protesters and then forced to leave by those criticizing them. As citizens we do have the right to free speech, but annoying someone in a restaurant, no matter how much you disagree with them, can be a crime. At a minimum it is disturbing the peace. What was just as disturbing as the behavior was that this behavior was encouraged by a few elected officials. Encouraging physical conflict with speech – is not a direction we should take and it borders on prohibited speech.

At least with the elections over, we can all look forward to better times with Christmas just around the corner. The holiday decorations did seem to start early. In early November, before we even voted, I noticed Christmas trees decorated with lights and placed in front of commercial businesses. I wondered if the Christmas trees there to make us feel happy or where they there for commercial reasons? I am sure they were for commercial reasons, but they can still make us feel good, especially after an election. Christmas always seems to make us feel better, or maybe more thoughtful and caring about others. At least I think so? Well, maybe? As least - I hope so.

Christmas is supposed to be a special holiday when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It can be uplifting and inspirational; "peace on earth and good will towards man" reflects noble ideals. As to the good will toward man, that seems difficult in an election year, but maybe that is just what we need. Maybe Christmas is the antidote that we need following an election? Christmas reminds of us of our better nature, that I believe we do have. At lease we have it – sometimes. Of course it would be nice if peace did exist, even if it was just one year. Then again, maybe peace on earth would be nice for a month. Maybe we should begin with just one day.

Did you ever wonder, or ask where the idea of good will toward man started. Was there a time in the world where everyone was so rude that the idea of being nice to others did not exist? If that did exist, there could have been a period of enlightenment when someone theorized that we could be nice to each other and just get along. After all, it does seem nice sometimes when we work in the same direction.

Maybe we should view peace on earth and good will toward man as a directional goal, where we would like to be and how do we get there? While politics often seems to create disagreement there are times when the holidays can also foster disharmony. Christmas is when a few family members, some of which we really don’t care for, get together. In the spirit of Christmas, we have parties and dinners and we feel obligated to invite a few relatives that we often don’t socialize with. Sometimes, when family members who don’t generally see each other all year get together, tension and stress can occur. Of course the tension and stress can be magnified with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Then, if we add political differences to the mix the tension and stress, along with the alcohol, can create a very memorable family Christmas gathering. A good rule is there should be no political conversations during Christmas gatherings.

I am certainly not trying to create the impression that the Christmas spirit is all bah, humbug, but I am saying that the holiday spirit can be challenging at times. While most of us see Christmas as an uplifting holiday, good spirts and cheers, we are often reminded of our differences that seem to divide us. Maybe that is the part of the problem, which is that we sometimes believe that our differences are not a good thing. Being different or having differences is not necessarily a bad thing. In the spirt of Christmas maybe we should be looking at ways to celebrate our differences. During this Christmas season, maybe we should asked ourselves, what would Jesus do and how would he see our differences?

Merry Christmas