A happy holiday season to all our readers

Hello, Vox Veraxers!

Just writing to wish you all a happy holiday season.

I would say "merry Christmas" but that's no longer de rigueur for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:

1. Much of the planet does not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ per se;
2. We all know that the baby Jesus was not born on Dec. 25 in the year zero; and
3. The celebration of Christmas worldwide has become, for the most part, an exercise in commercial gluttony measured by sales volume, audacious displays, frantic shopping trips, angst-ridden gift lists, etc., etc., etc.

We want you to know, dear Vox Verax readers, that you are a special group, limited in number but curious enough as to stay up with what we (mostly TM) post in terms of U.S. and world affairs.

The celebration of Christmas has become, in fact, almost the antithesis of its original intent, that is to honor a renewal, a transition, a hopeful break from previous religious custom, even a symbol of revolution. Certainly not today. It is instead in many ways a validation of the status quo and a paean to commercialism and waste.

We have no idea as to how long we will continue with Vox Verax. It is a labor of love, certainly not of profit. But that's okay. It gives us something to do in the morning and sometimes in the evening, and makes us feel like hopefully we are contributing to the betterment of the world, if only in a small way.

One good thing about the holiday season is that it does remind us that there are others who are less well off than we may be. It is a time of true gifting where gifting is needed and appreciated. There are those who do celebrate the season in service to others; they are mostly unsung and nearly all underappreciated. And we honor them.

So there you are, dear readers, our holiday greeting, at least from one-half of this duo's point of view — mercifully brief. We are thankful for your readership and hopeful that we can together bring about a better planet for all its living creatures (except, perhaps, for certain organisms, like mosquitos and HIV, as well as some individual members of homo sapiens who seem to delight in advancing their own interests above the well-being and harmony of the planet as a whole.)

Pax vobiscum,

LP