A Helping Hand

It seems to me that the holidays bring out the best and the worst in people.

Maybe you never knew Aunt Mildred could eat an entire double batch of sugar cookies, until last week when you saw the massacre happen. (I don't have an Aunt Mildred; this example is purely fiction.)

On the other hand, Little Timmy spent his entire life savings to get his sister a new pair of shoes.

I don't know all the stories. I just make them up.

But really the holidays do that. Except for those individuals that are smart enough to go into hiding for the month of craziness.

Kids get greedy, or giving, parents get stressed, people plan and go on big trips, employees get trampled. It's just bonkers if you ask me.

Here's the thing. The Christmas that exists for most Americans is not a Christian holiday anymore; it's a consumer holiday. I mean, economists are banking on how much Americans spend, not on how much they pray.

People go into to debt to get themselves or someone else the latest 'it' thing. That is a completely different kind of heaven.

I remember a debate in one of my high school classes. Students were discussing whether or not adopting families for Christmas was an appropriate fundraiser for a public high school.

I get the issue. I believe that America was founded on the idea of equality, even if we seem to have confused the idea of equality for most of the countries history. I don't want to take away from, or belittle, or ignore that not everyone believes (or even doesn't believe) in the same thing.

But I also believe that the holidays provide an opportunity to help those in need. Perhaps, the only time some will accept some kind of help.

It's about giving a family a meal to eat and a few essentials they can afford to buy themselves. You can try handing that out in the middle of May, but I have a feeling it's not going to be received in quite the same way.

Let's help out our neighbor and create a spirit of giving, instead of a spirit of wanting.

Who's with me?