The New Year Lurks just over the Horizon

Well, it’s been a year. Almost.

I’m certain there was a time in my life when I never thought I’d be around to see 2009. Oh, I didn’t think I’d be dead. No, my parents had me pretty damn convinced Christ would have come back by now. There’d be this rapture, and all the good people would fly to heaven, and the bad people would be “Left Behind” (see Christian book series for reference, or watch movie starring none other than… drumroll please…. Kirk Cameron!).

I was 14 or 15 then, a young, impressionable high schooler who believed pretty much everything his parents told him, because, why would I not believe them? At that stage of my life, they had me pretty damn convinced that I would not be around long enough to have sex, get married, play varsity soccer or see the 49ers win another Super Bowl. As it so happened, all of those things came to pass! ( I even got married, divorced, and I’m now set to marry again!  And had a lot of sex. Go figure.)

Needless to say, Christmas-time is wierd now. It used to be all about presents. Then, it was all about Jesus. Now, it’s not about presents or Jesus. In fact, I really don’t know what it’s about, except a reason to trade money back and forth. I’ll send you some cash, you send me some cash, we’ll send some cash to Mom, and everything will be fine. Or, you set limits on the “gift-giving” with your significant other, which is understandable in these current tough times.  I spent only about 50 dollars on my darling fiancee — but the smile on her face when she opened her new robe (which, didn’t fit in her stocking — even though we’d promised we’d only get things that fit in the stockings) was equivalent to finding a gold nugget.

Anyway, the contrast is all the bad things that happen around Christmas time. Suicide rates are always higher this time of year. Two boys were bludgeoned to death by a neighbor with a baseball bat in Phoenix. The terrible, horrific Christmas eve massacre in Covina will haunt that community for years to come. I heard today that a guy shot someone in a movie theater because they were talking during the film. Are you freaking kidding me?

Sidebar: I grew up around guns, my father owned guns – he was a cop – and yet I’ve never really been a fan of them. Gun supporters, how can you not see the that there needs to be more restrictions on guns? Do you really think that tragedy in Southern California would have happened if the shooter only had a knife? I’m not saying outlaw the damn things. Just find a way to keep them out of the hands of people who seek only to slaughter innocent lives. Make someone justify their desire for a gun. Cops need guns. Hunters need rifles. Who needs a sidearm or a shotgun, other than federal agents, police officers or sheriff’s deputies? Certainly, some lines of work are more dangerous than others. But we should all be able to agree that in the battle for gun rights or gun controls, there are too many innocent victims. Don’t quote me the 2nd Amendment - just explain to me how we can keep six-year-old girls from getting shot in the face by deranged, armed men.  ”Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” is not good enough anymore. You are going to have to give some ground in this fight because the blood in the streets is running downhill from your side of the neighborhood. As for anti-gun people — realize you may have to give up some ground too. Finding a compromise on this issue means both sides need to make concessions. But, find the middle ground, all of you, and figure out a way to get guns away from people who would not otherwise act violently. I do not know how you do it, but find a way. We didn’t get to the moon by believing it was impossible.

So bad things happen at Christmas. A few good things happen too — hey, Christmas miracles! The sad thing is that if society pretended that it was Christmas all year, we might feed more people at soup kitchens, get more donations to red kettles, and help more people who need it. But, alas, who has the time? That’s why there’s Christmas-time!

A New Year is coming quick. As for what 2009 holds — it’s anyone’s guess. See you there.

~ by sincityinsomnia on December 27, 2008.