Holiday refrain always relevant

Across the Hawaiian islands, today is Christmas Day.

It’s Christmas for our families and friends, gathered to celebrate with a sumptuous feast and gifts under a glittering tree.

It’s Christmas for wide-eyed children glowing with excitement for this long-anticipated day.

It’s Christmas for the joyous faithful, marking the birth of their Savior.

It’s Christmas for those on the job, including hospital employees, firefighters and police officers, convenience-store clerks and hotel workers.

It’s Christmas for those who are alone and lonely.

It’s Christmas for our prison inmates here and on the mainland, separated from their loved ones.

It’s Christmas for our homeless families living in squalid encampments on sidewalks and under freeways, trying to stay warm and dry in the persistent rain.

We hope and pray that this holiday’s message of peace and good will touches them all, as well as those who don’t observe Christmas. We hope so.

After such a tumultuous year that seemed drenched in negativity — the mid-term elections, Hono-lulu’s police chief, University of Hawaii leadership, GMOs, homelessness — optimism and good cheer can wither on the vine. Cynicism seems the more appropriate response. It is not.

And we can do more than hope.

We can remember that our community spans the rich and poor, the working class and the professional elite, the strong and the weak. We all belong to Hawaii, linked to each other by geography and common interest. As our individual fortunes rise or fall, so, inevitably, do the fortunes of our whole community.

When we debate vexing public issues, we should keep our common interest in mind, because success depends on it. The common holiday refrain, "Peace on Earth and good will toward men," is not a seasonal trope. It’s a practical aspiration, one that can guide public policy.

For example, one of the best ways to promote peace and good will for all is to advance the interests of those who can’t protect themselves, our neighbors living on society’s economic margins.

As we have seen by the tents sprouting on our sidewalks, our own security and peace of mind depend on improving the fortunes of the growing homeless population. We know that sit-lie laws won’t work if their only purpose is to banish the homeless to protect those who find them repugnant. The prob- lem will only get worse. We must look beyond ourselves; people without homes need a place to live.

Furthermore, in the spirit of Christmas, let us resolve to extend good will to the sincere efforts of officials and agencies, both public and private, working to address our community’s most intractable problems and challenges. Yes, we should demand accountability, but it is too easy to ridicule and dismiss efforts without offering guidance or contributing to solutions.

Those working hard to establish Housing First for the homeless need an engaged community, not a cynical one. So do those tackling other issues, whether it be the good name of the Honolulu Police Department, the University of Hawaii’s budget woes, our new political leadership or anything in between. It’s important to remember that these matters are not abstractions from an ivory tower. They are the police officer who comes to your aid, the UH student signing up for classes, the lawmaker who acts on behalf of you and your neighbors.

The great humanitarian Mother Teresa once said, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

Let us not forget. Merry Christmas!