Happy darkness

The public controversy over what to say to people at this time of year got me wondering what life would be like if we had evolved with a scientific approach from the very beginning, instead of a superstitious one. We wouldn't go whack down an evergreen or appoint a mock king we would have to kill at the end of a week of partying. We might build something like Stonehenge just because it's so damn cool.

"I'm feeling a little down, since the days are so short."

"Here, have a mild euphoric, and stand in front of this light for an hour."

Partying, artificial light, and comfort food are scientifically supportable responses to seasonal depression. Those would happen anyway. But around the punch bowl we'd be talking about the angle of the Earth's axis, and the speed at which our planet journeys around the sun to complete a year. There might be a Stonehenge in the back yard of every family with school age children. And one in every city park, because they're just so damn cool. Plus, we'd be looking at the stars with whatever technology had been invented so far.

I won't say we'd live in a kinder and gentler society. One would hope that peer-reviewed research would have long ago dispelled many of the bases for bigotry and oppression. Science is simply an approach and an attitude. But it was interesting to think of this time of year without the amalgamation of traditions based on invented stories and placatory rituals.

Imagine no Black Friday.
It's easy if you try.
No commercial onslaught
Telling you "Buy! Buy! Buy!"

We can't subtract it from our lives and pretend it never existed. Too many people are too invested in it, emotionally as well as financially. Chances are, the ones most financially invested are the least interested in peace and good will, but the rest of us grew up with one form or another of the communal feeling that people feel when faced with darkness and implacable cold. We really sense that we need each other at a time like that. Come spring, go screw yourself. But right now, we want company, warmth, and good cheer.

May you find it. And may it at last extend beyond the lighted circle in the darkest night. We could use a little more good will.