Gary F. Ehman (1937–2021)

Numerous individuals in the news media seemed appalled by what has turned out to be a refugee-like situation in the Gulf States because of hurricane Katrina. A large portion of the population of the city of New Orleans and other gulf coast cities that have fled the area will be displaced for some time, and some even permanently.

One cable news anchor, standing amid the devastation of New Orleans, outside the Superdome, repeated over and over his disbelief that a refugee situation was taking place right before his eyes, "right here" in the United States.

It's that time of the year when those repeated seasonal refrains about reindeer, mistletoe, holly and little drummer boys bombard us in stores, mall-ways, on radio and TV—along with being hummed, whistled or sung in our ears by just about everyone around us.

One of the favorites, left over from my past life in the frozen wilds of northern Wisconsin goes like this:

Oh, I yust go nuts at Christmas
On that yolly holiday
I'll go in the red like a knucklehead
Cuz I'll squander all my pay.

Political correctness is again turning the United States' Christmas scene on its ear this year. Arguments continue to rage over what to call the "real live" national evergreen tree, now firmly planted in the nation's Capitol on the Ellipse.

What is it: a holiday tree or a Christmas tree?

Those who say "holiday tree" point out that it offends Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists and the American Civil Liberties Union if we use "Christmas," claiming Christ must be taken out of the national "holiday" celebration.

Contrary to what most people think, the trappings of Christmas are not based on Jesus Christ of the Bible, but are deeply rooted in pre-Christian oral legends, sanitized by theologians, historians and, in some instances, the editorial rooms of more modern times. Of all these legends, none has grown to the stature and popularity of that of Santa Claus.

Looking back over the years, it has become evident to me that the gap between what the Bible says to do, and what its alleged followers actually do, has reached near absurd proportions.