Friends,

Lately we’ve been hearing more criticism about Christmas and materialism. I’ve heard commercials from an organization that encourages people to give to charity instead of buying gifts for others for Christmas. The commercial implies how much better our world would be if we cut the commercialism of Christmas.

I think this is a short-sided view of Christmas and materialism. First, I view materialism as an attitude. Materialism is when material things control a person, instead of a person controlling material things. There’s nothing wrong with owning a lot of stuff, as long as they don’t own you. For example, if you decide to enjoy your fishing boat instead of attending church, you have changed your priorities, placing a fishing trip ahead of God.

Second, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been reading about all the jobs lost to the declining economy. The simple fact is this: no spending, no jobs. No buying, no jobs. If people didn’t purchase gifts for Christmas, can you imagine how much worse the economy would be?

Now I don’t believe in Santa Claus. I taught my kids the truth about Santa from the very beginning. We have kept Christ in Christmas. That doesn’t mean we don’t exchange gifts at Christmas. We do, but it revolves around the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. We keep stuff in the right priority during the Christmas season (the holidays?).

The point: Don’t feel guilty about buying gifts for Christmas. Don’t feel guilty about buying products or services all year long. You are helping to provide jobs. God wants us to prosper, but He wants us to keep Him top priority in our lives. (You really can’t prosper without Him.)

Have a Merry Christmas!

P.S. Don’t be a Scrooge. Don’t shop on Christmas. You will be encouraging stores to keep their employees away from their families during Christmas.

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to return to "the land of my birth" or my "old stomping grounds." My wife and I went to see a ballet performance of the Nutcracker at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, where I was born and spent my first 30+ years.

After our first year of marriage, we moved out of New Britain to Windham, under divine guidance. I never thought I’d move out of my beloved New Britain. I was working at near-by Plainville at a decent job. But the growth potential had suddenly become limited with the arrival of a new owner and I felt directed after prayer to move on.

So after the play, we hopped in our car on a freezing cold night to explore the town I had not been to in more than 20 years. I wasn’t expecting anything dramatic. Most, if not all my acquaintances, had moved away or passed away. My fellow workers had moved on. The teens I managed have grown and established families. The mothers I worked with are now grandmothers. Most of my parents friends weren’t around, neither were their kids. In fact I don’t have any idea where most of my childhood friends have taken root. All I know is that they aren’t in New Britain anymore.

First, we visited our first two apartments. Our first, where I was living when we were first married, was a multi-unit building with some ranch-style apartments and townhouse-style units as well. The building looked modern and well-maintained on the outside, but the roof leaked badly. We left after water flooded several areas of our apartment and damaged some cherished furniture.

Our second apartment, the second floor unit of a three-family house, was also still standing. It looked like the owner may have insulated the house. When we lived there, we could feel the cold wind, but heat was included in the rent. So if the owner wanted to blow lots of money heating the apartments, it was his problem, not ours. Personally, I would never rent a poorly insulated apartment, house etc., if I had to pay for the heat separately. If the heat is on my tab, I want to make sure the unit is well insulated.

As we drove past my former home and the houses of my close friends and relatives, it seemed a bit weird that someone else was living there. It was kind of like a "It’s a Wonderful Life" experience. After accepting reality, I wake up to my wonderful life in a different community.

Just like most towns in our country, NB has both desirable neighborhoods and not-so-desirable areas. Most changes I observed was changes in the business communities. I was surprised to see some businesses still there from the days of my youth. Eblens still has its founding store open. Amatos Hobby Shop is still there, as is NB Furriers. If you ever visit NB, stop in for a soda at Avery’s on Corbin Avenue. It’s great to see this home-grown business still going on. We have a similar business at home, and it’s a source of home-town pride. Of course, all the big, main-line denominational churches still maintain their stately presence. Most of the residential neighborhoods remain the same as well. Some of the commercial buildings house different businesses. Gone are some former fixtures as the Burger King and the Taco Bell. Moved are the McD’s and the KFC.

Some new commercial areas have developed in near-by Plainville and some areas in NB are boarded up. Capital Lunch no longer exists. How can NB residents survive without this world-famous hot dog establishment I’ll never know. Generations will never know what they’re missing!

We drove passed a neighborhood market that provided my family with great meats. We liked Mays Market because Walter Mays would allow my parents to pay off a monthly tab. This was especially useful during the summers, as my parents vacationed in Mystic, and us semi-adult children stayed home to work at summer jobs. Not surprisingly, the store isn’t there any more. It’s been replaced by a locally owned convenience store – certainly not a place to purchase groceries, just junk food.

One thing I noted was that New Britain has managed to survive, even though that torrid Route 72 highway ripped apart the downtown in two. But the town green was cheerfully decorated for the Christmas holiday.

I originally intended to have an after-show dinner at my former favorite pizza shop, but neither of us was very hungry. Plus I was sure that the shop, even if it still existed, would definitely have different owners.

Visiting the past was interesting, but not real emotional. I couldn’t say "Hi!" to anyone, because no one was there I knew. Only the dwellings exist, not the people. I have established new roots and have fallen in love with my now home community. I’ve been active in civic affairs to the best of my ability while raising three sons. As I’ve taught them, the present and future are much more important than the past. We can’t change the past, but we can use the present to change our future. As much as I have some fond memories, life has moved on, I have moved on, and my home is now in Willimantic, where I have established a new life with new traditions.

Friends,

President-elect Barack Obama, in his acceptance speech, called for national unity. Senator McCain also called for the nation to support the new president. These messages are the exact opposite of the Democratic approach to the election of President Bush. Instead, they provided the nation, and the media with eight years of Bush-bashing, character assassinating, name calling insults and resistance.

But why should conservatives be the only ones to compromise in order to achieve national unity? Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi propose to censor the conservative message on radio - the only place its allowed. They propose to override all state parental consent and other abortion regulations with the "Freedom of Choice Act." They propose to nationalize gay marriage by repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act. They propose to end the 401K tax deduction and reduce the defense budget by 25 percent. They also propose to eliminate the secret ballot in union elections. If Obama truly wants to end partisan politics and unify the country, he needs to "cool it" on his divisive, extremist proposals and work on fixing the economy.

Friends,

Unfortunately, the nation has chosen the scariest person possible to become our next president. I’m not so much bitter as I am very concerned about the direction Pres.-elect Barack Obama might take our country. I’m writing this commentary before reading my usually conservative blogs, news sources and commentaries.

The main stream media has proclaimed the election as historic because a black man (not really African-American) was elected. Was this election, then, really about race? It’s no doubt that many voted for Obama simply because he is black, ignoring his divisive issue positions. Does that make people racist? Only if they voted for McCain simply because he is white. Real change will come when people decide to vote their values and not for partisan, racial or vague ("he will unify the country" "he’ll bring change") reasoning.

It is interesting to read some of the endorsements and comments from newspaper editorials. They all call upon Obama to do something that he has never done, end the Washington partisanship. They call upon him to govern "from the center," to find "common ground," to form a bi-partisan administration and an apolitical management of government; something he never promised to do.

If Obama follows his promise to unify this country, he will have to compromise his far-left, socialist policies and work with conservatives and Republicans (there are differences) to solve some of our problems. However, if he and the Democrats decide this election is a mandate to force their liberal economic and social agenda on the rest of the country, we will see our country take a great fall.

If Obama pushes his agenda:

First, on "family" and "social" issues, we can expect the nationalization of same-sex marriage. It will be accomplished either by the courts (Obama will be nominating liberal, big government, Supreme Court and other judges) or through the Congress. This will happen in business, churches and in the military. We can expect the expansion of "gay" rights and the repression of the "religious" rights of those who oppose homosexuality. We will see, as a result, the decline in the family structure in our culture, as is happening in Europe. And we will see the elimination of abortion restrictions in the states that have them, as the U.S. Supreme Court or Congress overrules state’s rights. And we will witness the censorship of the conservative voice, especially on talk radio, by the passing of the "Fairness Doctrine" (even though this concept was previously ruled unconstitutional) which will be approved by Obama’s Supreme Court.

Second: the economy. Obama’s plan has been compared to former Pres. Jimmy Carter. His presidency was an economic disaster, with sky-rocketing inflation and unemployment. He left the office is a virtual disgrace. It may be "fair" but it discourages investments, the very thing that is needed to create job growth. Businesses create jobs, not the government. To "share the wealth" we need to create economic opportunities (jobs) for the middle class, and not punish those who create the jobs. Using the government to "spread the wealth" is socialism.

Third: one of the biggest factors on the downturn of our economy is the cost of energy. Obama’s plan makes us more dependent upon foreign oil because he opposed the domestic production of oil (and apparently coal, too.). He also opposes nuclear energy. There’s only so much wind and solar power can take us. He "global warming" solutions will drive up the cost of energy even more. He wants us to conserve energy, which may be fine, but we can’t do that and grow our economy at the same time. If Obama and the Democrats push their environmental/energy agenda, $4 to $5 a gallon gas prices will seem like a bargain.

Fourth: Foreign affairs: Obama faces the threat of the very existence of our loyal ally Israel. He faces the continuous threat of a determined Islamist extremist movement, including the Taliban and Al- Quida. He will face challenges from nations that support terrorists and nations that oppose our freedoms (Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and others). As he has no foreign-affairs experience, he will have to tap the expertise of others when dealing with these situations. I believe that directly negotiating with these nations, without having a position of strength, will be fruitless, and lend more credibility to these nations in the eyes of the world.

Fifth: The war against terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and abroad: If Obama pulls out of Iraq before it is able to defend itself from threats within and without, he will negate the sacrifices of the thousands of men and women who fought for the security of our nation and the freedom of Iraq. Because of the success of the "surge" we are withdrawing troops. Casualties are at all-time lows. The Iraqi people are now experiencing a more peaceful existence. An early withdrawal puts all this progress at risk. He promises to pursue bin Laden in Afghanistan until he is captured and to eliminate the terrorist threat that is growing there. This is good and noble, but won’t happen if the Democrats carry through with their threat to cut the defense budget by 25%.

Government growth: Obama has pledged spending programs that exceed the $700B bailout package. He claims to reduce spending in other area, yet offered no concrete plans. Obama opposed renewing the so-called "Bush tax cuts," which means that, unless Congress reverses itself, we will all experience a tax increase in 2010. More taxes and more government spending will increase the burden on our economy even more.

Medical care: If Obama pursues his big government medical insurance proposals, it will compromise our quality of medical care, and jeopardize the access to it. Not that it won’t be more affordable, there may not be enough medical care providers to meet the demands, as in Canada, England and other "universal" health care countries.

Supreme Court: Obama will appoint activist judges who will continue to impose law, and their personal opinions, upon the people, contrary to the prescribed role outlined in the Constitution. As with our state (Connecticut) we may soon be able to do away with the legislature (Congress) and simply allow the wise and almighty judges to rule our land.

In short, if Obama pushes his agenda upon the American people, he will further divide, not unify our country. Despite of his overwhelming campaign advantage - both in the media and financially, he only won 51% of the vote, certainly no record to boast for someone who alleges to unify our country.

Obama, hopefully, will humble himself and seek God’s help and our prayers as he leads our nation over the next 4 years. Our nation needs us to pray, more than any time in our recent history.