Another Holiday Season

Tis the holiday season once again. Another year has gone by and like everyone else we are all a year older. Sad to say many of us are not much wiser for it either. Yet, as we finish the Thanksgiving leftovers of turkey and giblet gravy a moment of reflection is now past due. As the multitudes stomp their way through shopping malls one has to really wonder what has happened to a world that many of us baby boomers so fondly remember where time honored traditions characterized a slower, softer, almost a reverence in tone to this time of the year.

As our youth of today are becoming more indoctrinated to the fast tract materialization of society has put an entirely different slant on the traditions that so many still fondly remember Christmases of long ago. With the tragedies that have continued to mount just within the past year coinciding with a transformation of our culture and heritage into unrecognizable characteristics may just prove that our society has reached an apex where we could slide down into the abyss of caves.

In all the news of today we read and see it all the time where the less fortunate are taken advantage of. The reverse Robin Hood mentality has reached far and wide. From governmental officials through religious groups continue to pray on those who in many cases through no fault of their own have ended up seeking help only to be subjected to the harsh realities that continue to suppress those who are in need.

Many cities are like Tampa, Florida where under the banner of religious organizations, aka churches, many destitute individuals from returning service men and women, to past veterans, to laid off workers, the underemployed and the unemployed seek refuge and solace behind church walls only to be taken advantage of. In so many instances these hapless individuals have no recourse other than spending another night on the streets but to subject themselves to the rules and regime that requires them to endure what is paramount to indentured servitude. One can arguably say the slavery is in many forms and is alive and flourishing even in the United States.