OUR VIEW: How to take back Christmas this year

Today’s “Community Forum,” on the opposite page, consists of letters from people greatly concerned about those who live in tarp shanties and tents. The shattered economy, coupled with an early and prolonged cold snap, has made concern for the homeless more acute than normal. They are visible now, and it’s harder than before to put them out of sight and mind.

The last letter in Community Forum, titled “The joy of a giving spree,” tells of a family who parted with Christmas shopping money in order to help provide for people in shantytowns.

The joy this family experienced, by giving directly to strangers, is apparent. Whatever else happens this holiday season, the family will remember forever the day they handed out blankets, sleeping bags, hats and gloves to the homeless. They aren’t saints. They are typical of millions of Americans, who give in good times and bad.

The letter imparts wisdom we don’t hear enough: “You don’t need to belong to a church, or a civic group. Just grab your neighbor, search your basement for something warm, and put a smile on your face.”

Our culture, in all of its wonderful and well-deserved comfort and wealth, has developed a delegation mentality concerning the poor. Too often we believe the poor should be cared for by government, or quasi-public and private social service agencies.

We’ve developed a collectivist attitude that empowers organizations and government to relieve individuals of hands-on care for others. Pay your taxes, drop a dime on the United Way, and go about your life. Social service professionals reinforce this mentality, urging us to avoid direct interaction. Purportedly, it is for our own safety and the welfare of the poor. Gifts given directly, we’re told, are misused. In shirking one-on-on, hands-on duty, we’ve created barriers that weaken the soul of the individual and the culture. The haves fear the have-have nots; the have-nots begrudge the haves; and central planners tell us all how to live and to give. It’s fine to fund organizations, but it’s not enough. Society rejoices only when humans interact.

Americans of all faiths approach Christmas — the second biggest holiday of a religion that emphasizes charity — as if there’s fulfillment in shopping sprees and gift orgies with some strange nexus to Jesus. All the while, shoppers can’t wait for it to end. We all know Americans who suffer through December in anxiety and despair. We all know Americans who view Christmas as a holiday that callously excludes. Poor kids and their parents sometimes feel excluded when more fortunate kids get bigger and better gifts. Lonely people feel excluded when neglected in December by friends and neighbors busy with Christmas.

Christmas isn’t supposed to be an occasion of excessive consumption and in-house giving. It’s about selfless giving, inspired by powerful men giving directly to a homeless Jewish child. Gifting to friends and family at Christmas is a fine tradition, but it doesn’t honor Christ. Sacrificing to give directly, to strangers, honors the life of Jesus and fulfills the giver like nothing else can.

This Christmas, give to loved ones and to someone you barely know. Befriend people in situations different than your own. If you’re wealthy, give to the poor. Use the occasion to visit with a single mom, and learn about her world. Gather friends to donate blankets and roast marshmallows with the homeless along the creek. If you’re a working stiff, consider helping the children of a colleague who was laid off. If you’re poor, give something of value to the rich. Organize friends, perhaps, and sing carols in a wealthy neighborhood.

Recession has brought this country to a level of hardship unknown by most. It’s an opportunity to take back Christmas, honoring it as a holiday in which people care about strangers, overcoming prejudice and fear.

If Christmas became a time of true giving, we’d see a lot less depression, anxiety and sadness each December. We have time to make Christmas 2009 the happiest, most joyful Christmas of all. — Wayne Laugesen, editorial page editor, for the editorial board

Our View editorials uphold a proud tradition at The Gazette of advocating individual freedom, constitutional law, faith, and limited government. Editorial opinions have no connection with The Gazette’s news division, and do not express the views of all Gazette associates.