A Christmas Opportunity For Unity

A Christmas Opportunity For Unity December 25, 2012 Political tensions at home and abroad sometimes cause us to forget that as human beings — no matter our backgrounds, beliefs or ambitions — we are all in this together. Bitter partisan bickering over domestic policy has the potential to ruin families and friendships and make us hate complete strangers. And propagandized reports from abroad can lead us to view entire populations of people with disdain.

There will always be evil in the world. No amount of scientific research or religious study will ever reveal to us a definitive answer as to exactly why that is. But for the vast majority of us, life is about families, friendships and personal goals; things, in a perfect world, that would be encumbered only by the stresses of basic survival.

This, however, is not a perfect world. We are each subject to political quarreling amplified by the always-on media and sanctioned by motive-driven people in positions of power close to home and all over the world. Many of us remain engaged in a constant battle of Us versus Them which we are encouraged by leaders and pundits to live out in almost every aspect of our lives.

We are citizens versus aliens. We are Republicans versus Democrats versus Libertarians. We are conservatives versus liberals. We are religious versus non-religious. We are Americans versus non-Americans.

We are ethnicity versus ethnicity, race versus race, religion versus religion, gay versus straight, man versus woman, young versus old and everything in-between.

America is polarized and, in fact, the whole of the world is. But what should remain above all: We are all humans. The vast majority of us share the same love for those closest to us, the same pain for the loss of those loved ones and the same want for the best possible outcomes in life. We all require food, water, shelter and clothing; and we all do what we feel we must to acquire those things. Some of us seem obviously misguided in our pursuits; but in one way or another, we all are.

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, there was much anxiety throughout the Nation as people who care for one another, but often share diametrically opposed political opinions, prepared to gather for festive fun. College students will have come home, often only to turn their grandparents’ faces red with newfound liberalism. To everyone’s dismay, drunken uncles will proffer confused renditions of political talking points from the most extreme and misguided pundits of either right or leftist philosophies. Family members and friends, perhaps having imbibed one too many, may get into heated and worthless political quarrels.

But a better option would be to leave the political discussions alone — not because they are unimportant, but because they are far less important than the camaraderie of those around you. There may come a time when policies cooked up in Washington no longer matter; basic survival and cherished relationships might then be all that remain. The shift would likely move us all closer to the prospect of a more perfect world.

If you think it is impossible to lay aside staunch political beliefs, consider the often-repeated story of the remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914, at the height of World War I.

Nearly 100,000 soldiers — mostly British and German — on Europe’s Western Front allowed for one silent night in the midst of a war that would eventually claim 14 million lives. In 2005, The New York Times compiled a series of excerpts from the letters, journals and memoirs of the men who were there: The truce broke out spontaneously in many places. Pvt. Albert Moren of the Second Queens Regiment recalled the scene on Christmas Eve near the French village of La Chapelle d’Armentières: It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and about 7 or 8 in the evening there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and there were these lights -I don’t know what they were. And then they sang “Silent Night” – “Stille Nacht.” I shall never forget it, it was one of the highlights of my life. I thought, what a beautiful tune.

Rifleman Graham Williams of the Fifth London Rifle Brigade recalled how the mood spread: Then suddenly lights began to appear along the German parapet, which were evidently make-shift Christmas trees, adorned with lighted candles, which burnt steadily in the still, frosty air! … First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until when we started up “O Come, All Ye Faithful” the Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words Adeste Fideles. And I thought, well, this is really a most extraordinary thing – two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.

The shared carols inspired Capt. Josef Sewald of Germany’s 17th Bavarian Regiment to make a bold gesture:

I shouted to our enemies that we didn’t wish to shoot and that we make a Christmas truce. I said I would come from my side and we could speak with each other. First there was silence, then I shouted once more, invited them, and the British shouted “No shooting!” Then a man came out of the trenches and I on my side did the same and so we came together and we shook hands – a bit cautiously! The enemies quickly became friends, as Cpl. John Ferguson of the Second Seaforth Highlanders recalled:

We shook hands, wished each other a Merry Xmas, and were soon conversing as if we had known each other for years. We were in front of their wire entanglements and surrounded by Germans – Fritz and I in the center talking, and Fritz occasionally translating to his friends what I was saying. We stood inside the circle like street corner orators. … What a sight – little groups of Germans and British extending almost the length of our front! Out of the darkness we could hear laughter and see lighted matches, a German lighting a Scotchman’s cigarette and vice versa, exchanging cigarettes and souvenirs. On Christmas Day, some Germans and British held a joint service to bury their dead. Second Lt. Arthur Pelham Burn of the Sixth Gordon Highlanders was there:

Our Padre … arranged the prayers and psalms, etc., and an interpreter wrote them out in German. They were read first in English by our Padre and then in German by a boy who was studying for the ministry. It was an extraordinary and most wonderful sight. The Germans formed up on one side, the English on the other, the officers standing in front, every head bared. According to several accounts, soccer games were played in no man’s land with makeshift balls that Christmas. Lt. Kurt Zehmisch of Germany’s 134th Saxons Infantry Regiment witnessed a match:

Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as our friends for a time. Second Lt. Bruce Bairnsfather of the First Warwickshires saw an even more unusual fraternization:

The last I saw of this little affair was a vision of one of my machine gunners, who was a bit of an amateur hairdresser in civilian life, cutting the unnaturally long hair of a docile Boche, who was patiently kneeling on the ground while the automatic clippers crept up the back of his neck. Not everyone was so charitable. Cpl. Adolf Hitler of the 16th Bavarians lambasted his comrades for their unmilitary conduct:

Such things should not happen in wartime. Have you Germans no sense of honor left at all? When Gen. Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, commander of the British II Corps, learned of the consorting, he was irate: I have issued the strictest orders that on no account is intercourse to be allowed between the opposing troops. To finish this war quickly, we must keep up the fighting spirit and do all we can to discourage friendly intercourse.

Inevitably, both sides were soon ordered back to their trenches. Capt. Charles “Buffalo Bill” Stockwell of the Second Royal Welch Fusiliers recalled how the peace ended early on Dec. 26: At 8:30, I fired three shots into the air and put up a flag with “Merry Christmas” on it on the parapet. He [a German] put up a sheet with “Thank You” on it, and the German captain appeared on the parapet. We both bowed and saluted and got down into our respective trenches, and he fired two shots into the air, and the war was on again. We’re all in this together, regardless of what media pundits, power-hungry leaders and motive-driven lobbyists have to say.

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Questions the Press Doesn't Ask

Questions the Press Doesn't Ask Merry Christmas to the Fourth Estate! Hope you've enjoyed your goose or turkey or whatever your family tradition includes (latkes for those who are Jewish). When you return to work, there are a few loose ends on which you might want to follow up.

"Follow up." It's a term that has gone out of style in the age of Obama. You members of the press have become remarkably uncurious since he's been in the White House. A blanket of benevolent uncuriousness smothers news about Obama administration wrongdoing.

The Secretary of State, who took "full responsibility" for the Benghazi debacle, has not once been publicly questioned about it. Called to testify before a House committee this week, she pleaded illness -- a fall resulting in a concussion. She says she will testify in January. Perhaps members of Congress will ask what the press has not. Who made the decision to deny the requested additional security to our diplomats? Where is a copy of the order President Obama says he issued requiring that "everything possible" be done to save our personnel who were under attack? (Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West notes that such orders are always written down.) Were Navy seals stationed in Benghazi told to "stand down" rather than render assistance? Who told Susan Rice to say that the attack grew out of a protest, when there was no protest?

Speaking of that non-existent protest, isn't anyone even a little uncomfortable at the spectacle of the United States government arresting a guy for making a video (however "crude and offensive")? On orders of this administration, an FBI team descended upon and locked up Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. He may be a petty criminal and an idiot, but that's not the point. Aren't members of press sensitive about infringements of the First Amendment? Besides, what sort of message does it send to extremists around the globe when the U.S. cracks down on expressions of "blasphemy" toward Mohammed? Won't they congratulate themselves on intimidating us? You may want to ask. Just saying.

Oh, and here's something else you forgot to be inquisitive about. An unpaid intern working in the office of Democratic New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez (who was reelected on Nov. 6) was arrested on Dec. 6. It seems the 18-year-old illegal immigrant from Peru (who helped the senator on immigration issues!) was a registered sex offender. ICE knew about him, but he was repeatedly told by higher ups at DHS, according to a government source, to delay the arrest until after the election. If true, that's a remarkable politicization of law enforcement. So far, one "no comment" from a government official has sufficed to quiet your inquiries.

we support all family's in need

Familys helping familys help a family have a xmas

WELCOME TO OUR PAGE WE THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Family-Assistants-Campaign/545945622091823?ref=hl#!/pages/The-Family-Assistants-Campaign/545945622091823

HELLO MY NAME IS JOSEPH BARBER I AM A FORMER SOLDIER AND PATRIOT TO THE PEOPLE , I am a guardian of freedom and the american way of LIFE WE ASK YOU TO SUPPORT OUR CAUSE TO ASSIST FAMILYS WHO HAVE NO ELSE WERE TO TURN.

Citizens, I would like to share some thing with you I have experinced today. A young man I have been working with and has attended a couple of meetings of the resistance, came to me and ask me to go with him that he had some thing to show me and if I could help.I ask him what it was and all he would say is I have to show you for you to get the full concept of my feelings on the matter Mr Barber, so we headed to the destination he wish to show here in Galveston TX. As we were driving he proseded to tell me what he had ran across.It was four familys living out of their vehicles with children. The familys number in 4 and with two of the familys having 2 children, the other two familys have 3 children a piece, numbering 10 children in all. When we arrived it was around 9:00 am and they were out of the vehicles and the children were playing well the best they could. Any way, we pulled up and he got out and gathered the familys together introduced me and asked them to tell me their stories. As I sat their listening one after the other, I noticed they all had basically the same story they could no longer afford to pay the rent or bills and were afraid to go to the state or any one else in fear they may take their children from them and rightly so. I beleive what they had told me, the men of the familys two are working jobs that pay minimum wage and the other two our seeking gainful employment. The women take care of the children from the cars thru the day trying to not draw alot of attention, as I said, they are in fear some one will turn them in or try to take their children from them. As I listened I could see and feel the pain these familys are having placed on their hearts and minds and I beleive the state would do just that if given any chance to do so take their children.I called some members of the resistance and I am working to find a solution to help these familys, some in the resistance are willing to help many others just do not have it and I understand this as they support many in our family of people.

So I my self am going to take the money I have saved for my own place which is not much yet as I myself have just gotten back to work and have had some issue's thrusted on me in recent days. It is only about $300 at this point but it will give one of the men a set of tires for their van which they are living out of And I hope we can profide some kind of a xmas for the children, even if out of a motel, its something. I to am working and living out of my truck and have been for almost a yr. But for me, I am set up to live in the field and I do not have any children at this point that I have with me that I have to care for as they are all grown and another month is not going to kill me. My point is, we the resistance are not a non profit organization we are common people who follow our hearts and God, and to us it matters not what reason these people are in the position they are, all that matters is we do what is right by them, and the children. We are gathering as much funds as we can. We at the resistance do not beleive in red tape and paper work when it comes to the human family and we do not give to non profit organizations that take 50% of people donated funds for a modest administration fees. 100% of any thing we recieve or give goes to the familys we help. Here are the name of the familys Family #1 Mr.& Mrs. Williams. Ages 36 and 43 yrs. They have 3 children, Willy 3yrs, Patty 6 yrs, and karen 10 yrs of age. Family #2 Mr.& Mrs. Sanchez. Ages 45 and 39 yrs. They have 3 children,Jose 9 yrs, Missy 8 yrs. and Reberto 11 months of age. Family #3 Mr.& Mrs. Mcdonald. Ages 29 and 25 yrs. They have 2 children carl 2yrs. old and sissy 5yrs old. Family #4 Mr, Ms kirkpatric. Ages 23 and 20 yrs. They have two children billy 6 months and tom 3yrs of age. The world is made of stories. A story is also the way we understand the world, the way we make sense, the way we relate and how we explore who we are meant to be in this world, in this lifetime. Our individual stories are woven in to the texture of our collective story as humanity. Our destiny is not apart from that of our Earth, even the cosmos. Each of our stories are petals in a great flowering story of Creation. Following that unfolding, understanding our own stories in the light of that greater story, enables us to surrender, accept and receive in wholeness in the great mystery of life. What is going on in the World right now has never occurred in human history before. This is the greatest story of transition, humanity coming of age, a rite of passage in humanity’s evolution. It is the end of the World as we know it and it is the birth of a new reality woven stitch by stitch with the creativity, generosity, compassion and the genius of committed individuals and communities all around the globe, working in solidarity, willing to think and act in a whole new way. I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for one self, one's own family or one's nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace

If any one of you citizens wish to show these people some love and see all your gift's, 100% go to the ones you help then contact me @ 951-743-7819,or you can email me @ joseph.barber@rocketmail.com you can also place a gift for these familys at (JP Morgan chase bank) I will give all who wish to do so the info and account information needed for you to post funds needed. When you choose to contact me, I can also be reached at Facebook or you can mail any gift to 357 chestnut ave suite 71 carlsbad calif 92008 care of crystal button. Administrator for the resistance. Help campaign of conscience... you can also go to paypal button3377@yahoo.com. joseph barber @paypal If any of you wish to speak with any family, I can provide this for them as they do not have phones at this time. This to is and issue I will be trying to remedy as it is needed for employment, key word...