Four days before Christmas...

...and you would think that the spirit of Christmas, of goodness and kindness, the spirit of humanity and tolerance and patience would be first and foremost in the hearts and minds of mankind.

Dream on, dream on.

To the citizens marching along the streets of New York:  Yes, your marching brings recognition to your cause, but it does not bring a solution.  Education and patience and tolerance will bring a solution. The marching brings bitterness, both to the ones who are marching and to those who are inconvenienced and vulnerable because of your protests.  The marching does not promote solidarity, it promises irreversible division. For example: Those who march do care. Those who do not march do not care. That is so not true.

To the citizens who have become haters of the police: Do not dispute the split-second decision-making of the men and women who wear a police uniform unless and until you have stood in their shoes and have walked the streets and have performed that job. And pardon me, but it's not merely a 'job,' it's a way of life. Once you put on that uniform and take that oath to serve and protect, that position not only becomes part of your life but it is your life. Twenty-four hours of every day. A police officer is "in" that uniform whether he or she is wearing it on an eight-hour tour of duty or the uniform is hanging in a closet on his or her day off. There is never a minute of a police officer's career when he or she is not "on the job," as the police call it.

To the mayor of NYC: I haven't lived in NY since 1993 but I still read mostly everything that happens within and around The City and I still have family up there in the boroughs whose lives are impacted by the decisions of whomever is living in Gracie Mansion.  It would serve your city well, Mr. Mayor, if you made peace with your police force. And making peace usually starts with an apology. And you, sir, owe an apology to every officer on your police force. Without them, your city would cease to be The City that all of New Yorkers (ex- and current) believe it to be.

It is four days before Christmas. At this time of the year, more so than any other, the hearts of people everywhere should be over-flowing with love. Be kind. Be nice. Be good. Be tolerant. Be patient. Be the sort of person that gives your family name a positive and loving legacy to all who come after you.