Polarization is such a reality that for many years, we couldn’t even celebrate Christmas calmly or brightly. Again and again, the “peace on earth good will toward everybody” faction faced off against the “don’t tell me when I can’t say ‘Merry-Christmas’” caucus. When you turn the birth of a savior into an occasion for grievance, you’re kind of missing the season’s message.
Having followed the Christmas wars for a long time, I sense a bit of an abatement in the conflict, and thank God for that. I confess I have been an occasional polemicist in this quarrel (predictably for me, in the peace camp). This year, I want to revisit my favorite Christmas debate because it carries a lesson: Even within our discord, we can find a version of harmony that lifts up the blessings of a free, diverse and religiously pluralist society.
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