Season’s Greetings. I hope you are in the holiday spirit. Me? I’m trying to get there. My strategy is to follow the advice (for a change) of my mother. Knowing my propensity to find fault in others, she advised me not to say anything when I couldn’t find anything nice to say about someone.
Given the holidays, I’m not writing about you-know-who today even though, in recent weeks, he has been providing truckloads of material for columns each week. (Oops—my mom would not be pleased.)
The holidays this year have already been a blessing. We have heard from many friends, some of whom seem to contact us (and vice versa) only during the holidays. It is always good to hear from friends, old and new, and discover how they and their families are doing. I count friendships as among the best holiday gifts.
I also confess to liking snow, which is easy for me to do when I don’t have to drive in it. Snow is beautiful, as are rivers when they are frozen. A few years ago, a gaggle of more than 120 geese took temporary residence on Island Creek. I’m told they were sleeping while standing on the ice. I still cherish that memory.
Among the things that are remarkable about the season are the random acts of kindness and goodwill that I encounter. Sometimes, being the often-negative person that I am, I am surprised that people can be so empathetic, kind, thoughtful and cheerful in a world that sometimes seems upside down. I’m envious of these people and try to emulate them, remembering that goodwill is contagious. (Maybe if I hung out more with people of goodwill, I’d be a better person.)
I also like Christmas lights. Not the Clark Griswald variety—too much of a good thing is not a good thing. But the subtle decorations that I often see on houses at this time of year. I like seeing houses decorated. They remind me that there are people inside celebrating the holidays—and that there is more to life than politics, economics, and world news.
For several days last week, I watched ABC News with David Muir. I like his reporting, but I was watching because he is visiting small businesses that make and sell things made in America. Each night, a segment included some free advertising for small businesses that would never be able to reach a national audience. What is remarkable is how happy, functional, and positive the people are.
Finally, I like reading about Christmas meccas—places like the European Christmas markets that make a special effort to become mini-Christmas-Disneylands to create a destination where entire families, can enter a wonderland of holiday gifts, foods, smells, lights, and so much more. (Easton is becoming such a mecca and the Washington Post even reported on it.)
I will do my best to stay positive for the next few weeks and, with luck, even remain positive into the new year. On that last part, I may need some help. I’m worried about affordability (not a hoax), increases in the cost of health insurance, Venezuela and war, and a lot more. (Sorry, mom—I’ll keep trying.)
Happy Holidays.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.
christine durham says
I understand your concerns completely!
John E Dean says
Thank you for reading my piece. I appreciate it.
Jim Franke says
Which “A Christmas Carol” movie is the best? You may agree it’s the 1938 version that we grew up with.
John E Dean says
I agree–the 1938 version. I hope to watch it next week.
Mickey Terrone says
Hi John. I think I can help relieve you of some of the responsibilities of riding herd on Trump and his accomplices, at least for a few days. Its good that you wrote your article before Trump gave his monstrosity of an End-of-the-Year “Holiday Message”.
Within minutes of his disingenuous closing wishes to Americans, the media was alive with corrections, criticisms and debunking of his rapid-fire lies, exaggerations and distortions. With rumblings of crumblings of his rock-solid support among Republicans, he was obviously desperate to slap numerous band-aids on his self-inflicted wounds, especially the economy and health insurance.
If the tone of his ramblings gets much more frantic, only his most mindless zombies will remain committed to his absurd claims that now border on insulting or nearly insane to real Americans. Millions of his red state zombies are about to be forced back into the real world when they get their revised health insurance bills. The effects of those sticker shocks may well snap many of those folks back into the real world, though it may require forcing them to watch their family members get sick and die from issues for which they can no longer afford to pay. They won’t want to bury their family members with the MAGA hats on anymore.
Trump is desperately trying, with the feeblest of rationales, to blame Joe Biden for 90% of Trump’s own mistakes and missteps. Now, with the Epstein Files about to hit, he’s rightly thinking even more erosion of support will be forthcoming. I trust there will be major efforts made to obfuscate those facts, redact his name and otherwise deny, however lamely, Trump’s criminal involvement with the teenagers with whom he is often pictured. I hope this is the reason Dan Bongino quit his job as Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to go back to being a podcaster. I don’t think he did that as a career-building move.
The higher the decibel level of Trump’s voice rose last evening, I sensed his levels of desperation and fear rising. And of course, that is scary. I’m sure Miller, Bannon and Voight are already working on the rationales for Trump to declare a national emergency after he and his Trumpublicans get squashed in the 2026 elections. Hopefully, by then, you’ll be back to your normal ascerbic prose form when you can’t think of anything nice to say.
Hope you and Maria have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
John E Dean says
Mickey, as always, a great, substantive comment. Thank you for it.
I would have written about Trump’s speech it happened before I finished my piece. I was absolutely disgusted.
We live in troubled times, but I’m starting to see signs of hope. And I think things like renaming the Kennedy Center after himself and saying that the action surprised him is starting to get noticed by his “base.” The more Trump acts like a narcissistic clown, the faster he will lose his political influence and power.
Merry Christmas!
Charles Barranco says
Bravo Mickey! May all your wishes come true!
Merry Christmas and a very Healthy Happy New Year!