Christmas is almost here and I have to admit it has been one of the most daunting Yuletide Seasons in memory.
Christmas is fundamentally a celebration of the birth of Christ. But as our society evolves, an ironic turn of phrase if ever there were one, there are less and less people who celebrate Christmas for what it really is. Instead, in our increasingly secular society, which worships the supremacy of the individual, people celebrate Christmas for whatever they think Christmas should be. And this personal celebrating of Christmas has “evolved” to include gift-buying, watching football and impromptu expressions of atheist bigotry directed at Christmas in particular and religion in general. All in all, it makes the meaning of Christmas even more poignant: Christ was born among us, in the lowliest of circumstances, to save us from ourselves.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre has left a horrific pall over this year’s Holiday Season regardless of one’s religious or secular beliefs. Words can’t begin to express the significance of this tragedy. But there is one word I have not seen used in reference to the shooting, and it is a word that fits the crime perfectly: obscene. The murder/massacre of innocent school-children and teachers by a mentally disturbed individual was quite simply a vile, disgusting act of depravity. Adding to horror of this disaster was the numbing feeling that the Sandy Hook shooting is just the latest mass-shooting, just the latest mass-killing by a deranged individual. Until the next shooting.
God save us from ourselves. And please hurry up about it.
copyright 2012 Magnus Incognito