Never has there been a better time to embrace the  spirit of giving than this year when so many people are suffering and in need. We have become accustomed to having things very easy in comparison to those less fortunate than we are and this has led to a sense of complacency which we very much need to reassess. Things are really tough for a vast number of our fellow citizens the past year or so and it's our duty to  recognize this and do what we know is the right thing, not just as a rule but most assuredly at this time of year. We have fellow citizens going hungry, being thrown out of their homes, and unable to find work to relieve their hardship, and all this is through no fault of their own.

 I know there is a school of thought out there that they are not our responsibility but if you ever believed that we are indeed our brothers' keeper it's definitely the time to remember this. That isn't a ' left wing bleeding heart viewpoint'. It's a Christian one. And frankly I am completely disgusted that so many don't recognize this  as they fight and align themselves with those who continue to reward once again the wealthy among us while the less fortunate suffer.

 I know this is the Holiday Season and one is supposed to be filled with holiday spirit but there is precious little of it in evidence  in our media, in our governments, and sadly a very large segment of our populations.

It's darn well time we woke up and realized what we have become. An avaricious society where  the rich get richer and  the poor are cast aside. This is shameful.

There is a saying that "what goes around, comes around" and be very careful because we could all be next on the scrap heap. And frankly a great many of us darn well deserve exactly that. The callous disregard for the well being of our neighbours and fellow citizens  may well condemn us to the same fate.

 Write me off as a left wing liberal if you will. Better that than a heartless, selfish, uncaring right wing conservative who gives lip service to their faith while behaving and believing in nothing even anywhere near approaching true Christian belief. That is the rankest form of hypocrisy and I pray they are called to answer for it one day. What has happened to the moderate among us ? When did moderation become a dirty word ? Why are so many of us silent?

 Yes, I know this isn't a Christmas message. It's a message to the better nature of all of us. And lord knows there could not be a better or more appropriate time to write this. Be angry with me if you will. But first take a good look inside your own heart and check out what rests there before you condemn me.

This is traditionally the season of goodwill and love for our fellow man. The season of Our Lord's birth and the celebration of  HIs coming. Would He have abandoned so many of His own as we have done? I think not.

And just how will He judge each and every one of us one day ? I  suggest I can almost certainly guarantee it won't be based on any political affiliation. But I truly do believe it will be based on Christian charity and humanity.

As you enjoy this holiday season  with your loved ones please take just a few  minutes and give a thought to just what those two attributes actually represent. Unfortunately far too many who should know better seem to have forgotten what they even are.