Here's U2 in 1988 performing John Lennon's 1971 classic "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." Its indeed the holiday season again, and a time for joy as well as introspection. I love looking back nostalgically at the past, especially a hopeful moments. As typically nostalgic as this may sound, it does seem to me that things were more genuinely joyful and hopeful in times past. Of course, there was obviously still pain and sadness then too (after all, there were wars, and crises, and problems, and crime back then too). But it honestly seems to me as if those moments when joy and hope were present seemed more real and full back then. There was a greater space for things like genuine happiness, without irony. Today, there seems to be a harshness in the air, and happiness just a little more circumscribed. Here's a song I enjoyed listening to back in the '80s, Pat Benatar's "We Belong." Its not a Christmas song, but one that maybe invokes a spirit that is applicable year round, including the holiday season. I guess I'm taking this time to ask that we think about whats going on, and what we can do. Maybe we can reach out to one another. Maybe we can reach into our faiths and beliefs. Maybe we can listen to one another better. Maybe we can all give thought to how to make the world less bitter, and more hopeful.
