Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

You may feel relieved after having defied the dangers of professional life and you may cherish hope for a peaceful Christmas time with family and friends. Peace on Earth, however, seems beyond reach in these awkward times.

The sad news is that peace at your family’s Christmas table is equally threatened. In this time, everybody tends to have a strong opinion on political matters and even within families, we tend to have polarised viewpoints on almost everything. We may have academics and populists around the table. The only thing we could agree upon, is the decline of the West, and it looks like this drives our concern about everything else.

On the left-right axis, we have different viewpoints on almost everything: treatment of refugees, social security, property taxes, war in Palestine, deforestation in Brazil, etc. The left-right divide is essentially a socio-economical divide: do you promote the interests of the stronger or the interests of the weaker? The problem would be easy if the stronger felt strong. In times of upheaval and economic decline however, the strong feel threatened by the weak and opt for solutions that keep the weak away.

On the conservative – progressive axis, we have different viewpoints on immaterial values. The conservative viewpoint is that our ancestors have worked hard to establish immaterial values and that we should honour these. The progressive viewpoint is we need progress as the status quo proves our inherited values are not adequate to establish a fair society. Consider gay rights, abortion, the use of obligatory vaccination, the quality of education, the tolerance for life philosophies and the treatment of animals. Very often, conservative viewpoints resonate well with the right, and progressive viewpoints resonate with the left. The reason is our social order is based on possession, not on needs. Therefore, the protection of possession has a somewhat conservative character, whereas the standing up for the needs of the weak tends to have a progressive character.

The discussions are often not based on rational arguments, rather on belly feeling, sometimes even admiration or disgust for famous representatives of each side. Whatever you want to discuss at the Christmas table, keep in mind two things. First, the people at your table mean well, they are of good will, and they are concerned about you and about the entire planet.

Secondly, and this is the most important: resist cynicism. Don’t give in to the temptation of claiming everyone is stupid or selfish. Let there be peace on Earth. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, like Saint Joseph in his dream.

I also refer to my blog Why Do the People Imagine a Vain Thing?

Picture: Joseph’s Dream, Gerard Seghers, MSK Gent, artinflanders.be, photographer Hugo Maertens (public domain)