Greetings to all,
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Here is the text of a letter I submitted to local newspapers:
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To the Editor
The hype and hysteria which has arisen this year around so-called Black Days of Christmas shopping calls for a serious reality check. There is no doubt that gift-giving has a place in Christian celebration and that seasonal shopping is an excellent way to demonstrate support for our local merchants and their employees. Nonetheless, the encouragements for us to act like frenzied animals does nothing but debase the beauty of the Christmas message.
If we are determined to get swept up in any spending orgies this month, may I suggest we leap fully into spending in support of our local and critically underfunded hospitals, hospices and health care services. May I suggest we go crazy with support for Bernadette McCann House, Lanark Interval House and Living without Violence who have worked ceaselessly to keep our wives and daughters safe from abuse. May I suggest we completely lose our minds in supporting our local animal shelters, our food banks and organizations trying to protect our suffering natural environment. If these suggestions are not compelling enough to encourage more responsible spending orgies, it will not be difficult to identify countless other struggling causes who depend on our financial support much more than the malls of up-state New York or the trash-makers of China. This is the season to remember the birth of Peace not the cancer of Greed.
We wish all our Christian neighbours a joyous Holiday,
Rev. Innen Parchelo
Red Maple Buddhist Congregation
Renfrew, ON
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Well put.
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