The holidays, faith and humanity:

(Written 12/28/2009...Sorry it has taken me so long to post this.)

   So, about those empty promises I made about updating this more often…yeah, well that sure hit the fan mighty quickly didn’t it?  Sorry, about that. I’ve been very busy as of late. Not only is it the holiday season, which as you know causes more and more chaos with each passing year, but I have also been busy studying for finals, and my parents have been visiting for the past two weeks. There has rarely been a dull moment or even a spare moment for that matter over the past few weeks.

   When I wasn’t spreading cheer this holiday season I was trying desperately to survive the department store blood shed that seems to have engulfed the mall this past month. Normally, I am pretty optimistic about the future of humanity, but the West Farms mall has seriously tested my faith in the future of the human race. I was brought up with the belief that people are inherently good. I don’t mean to say everyone is a good person, but I think that everyone has the potential to be a good person. I think that it takes more effort to be a bad person than it takes to be a good person. You have to work to be bad. You have to ignore your conscience and instincts in order to do something that you know is wrong or unethical. I think that is when we end up with the Ebenezer Scrooge’s of this world, and believe me they were holding a convention at the malls across America this month.

   I’ve witnessed all types of madness this holiday season. I’ve bared witness to everything  from a kid being stuffed in a trash can because she was crying, to a five year old boy pushing his father down an escalator because he couldn’t get some toy that he wanted. I even saw a woman slap a sales clerk at Macy’s because her coach bag didn’t ring up on sale. It was unbelievable! I have never seen so many random acts of weirdness, cruelty, and lack of sheer self-control. I mean I know that the holiday season is stressful, but we are not savages. I’d like to think that the human race has evolved somewhat over the past couple of thousand years, but maybe I am just being too optimistic. Maybe I have set the bar too high when it comes to humanity, and I should learn not to expect anything less than animalistic behavior. I mean when you attempt to kill the man who gave you life in order to achieve some trivial impulsive want, I think you have just set the human race back a couple thousand years.

   Usually, I really love Christmas time, but this year was different.  This year I stopped to take a look around me, and I really did not like what I saw. People are not decent anymore, and that is a very sad realization to make...especially at Christmas time. While this holiday season has made a cynic out of me I still have some small hope that there are still some decent people out there.

   I know that the bulk of this post has been angled to focus on the negative aspect of my holiday season experience, so now I think it is only fair that I focus on something positive.  First and foremost, I feel that I should point out that besides my holiday shopping experiences I really did have a lovely Christmas. It was full of  cheer, laughs, food, and most importantly family. I love the whole atmosphere that only Christmas time in New England can bring about. A New England Christmas is different from Christmas time anywhere else in the world. It's full of wonderful familiars. There is nothing better than Hood egg nog, crazy New England weather, snow...lot's and lot's of snow, huge light displays on every block, even bigger tree displays, bright  nights, wreaths on every door, and carolers. It's the best! It is not anything you will ever experience in Miami, Dallas, Chicago, L.A. or even Japan. It's something that is specific to New England and only New England. Sort of like the phrase wicked, or the complete excommunication of the letter "r" when pronouncing words where the pronunciation of the letter r is essential.

   Anyway, I think the point I am trying to make is that I had a lovely Christmas in my favorite place despite the Ebenezer Scrooge's of the world testing my faith in the human race. While I still have my cynical moments I try not to let them dominate my outlook on life. I am hoping that the optimist in me still lives on, even if my experiences these past few months have proved otherwise.

   Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely time this holiday season, and as always stay tuned.:)