More than the clichés of the holiday season—food, presents and the overall frenzy—Christmas is supposed to be a time to reflect on the things we hold dear as a nation, a community, and an organization.
The reflections can take us to many places, not the least of all how our actions reflect, or fail to reflect, the values we claim to espouse.
Thus, when we say that in the course of building our nation, we uphold the values of truthfulness, integrity and fairness, it is the concrete examples that will bear us out. These will come in the form of: judicious use of public funds placed in our discretion, the refusal to compromise our values even when faced with great temptation (and a small likelihood of getting caught), and the resistance to favor one party over another because of our biases.
Certainly it is hypocritical to proclaim adherence to the rule of law while making exceptions for one’s allies or political proteges, as it sounds ridiculous to claim having an independent foreign policy while cozying up to a foreign country soon after rejecting a decades-old partnership with that foreign country’s perceived adversary.
Much closer to home, Christmas supposedly evokes the spirit of kindness, empathy and compassion. What then can we make of organizations or individuals who shortchange their fellowmen just because they know these people have no choice but to endure their current conditions?
How do we make sense of those who judge and pillory others just because they feel superior to them, failing to realize that they had no prior credentials to their good fortune except by sheer accident of birth—and, by virtue of this, education, connections, resources and opportunities?
The holidays are expected to bring out the kind, compassionate nature of all of us. Alas, for many, all this is lip service to serve their political and economic ends, and they do not see or treat people especially the humble ones as they deserve.
These hypocrites give Christmas a reputation of excess and falsehood, no matter how glossy, or pricey, their trimmings are.