Merry Christmas

I had a great Christmas with my family yesterday. My two sons and my daughter-in-law were in town and we had a low-key holiday. Thanks to my son Adam we all made an effort at buying local goods, reducing our environmental impact, and toning down the waste and frenzy. That was a great addition to the event, as were the gifts of carbon offsets and contributions to the Heifer Project.

It's a pity that some people feel compelled to insert religion into this solstice observation. It seems to make things a lot worse.

I know that a lot of people like to look at Eastern religions as a source of peace and amity in this violent, discordant world. Take the Hindus, for example:
Hindus Attack Churches on Christmas

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, AP
Wed Dec 26, 11:52 AM EST
NEW DELHI — Hindu extremists ransacked and burned eight rural churches in eastern India, marring Christmas celebrations in a corner of the country with a history of violence against Christians, officials said Wednesday. One person was killed in the violence.

The sad truth is that religion may not be the cause of all of our problems, but it sure hasn't brought us very close to solving them.