The holiday season

By TOBY GOTESMAN SCHNEIER
The commonalities and essential differences between the peoples of the earth can be felt most profoundly, (at least from this humble blog mistress''s point of view), at Christmas and New Years time. For it is precisely at this time of year that the elementary and rudimentary differences are highlighted by ritual, prayer, custom, litergical melody, etc.
And so we ask ourselves , "How do we really FEEL about the ''others''? Are we tolerant? Are we loving? Are we ENVIOUS? Do we JEWS secretly wish that we had a Christmas tree, a Yuletide log and a reindeer named BLITZEN? I mean, let''s face it, a SHVACH Hannukah bush and a horn from BLITZEN''s head used ONLY to signal the end of NEILAH are hardly a substitute for what THEY have!
Nonenetheless we are mandated to "LIVE HARMONIOUSLY among the nations of the earth."
What do you think about this mandate, Readers? Do we actually achieve this lofty and somewhat unrealistic goal? I, myself, have been known from time to time, to be EXTREMELY HAWKISH and unbending (lol) with regard to... the Palestinians for example. I simply cannot ascend to a
''GHANDI-esque'', angelic level when it comes to them and my homeland.
Am I WRONG? MISGUIDED?
Or....Are my survival instincts and organic proclivities toward protection of my people SO RAZOR SHARP and honed, that there is NO ROOM for another, more intellectual (perhaps) and Communistic (for sure!)approach?
How on earth did I get from BLITZEN''s herrner to Ghandi to PALESTINIANS?
Oy vey.