Shabazz: Wishing for the gift of civility this Christmas season

My friends, although my name is Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, it is time for my annual Christmas wish this holiday season.

Say what? The Black Muslim has a Christmas wish? Hey, I also smoke cigars, drink whiskey and love bacon, so give me a break.

I know this year has been tough on all of us with inflation, attacks on reproductive choice, war in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and not to mention Donald Trump.

Throw in the fact that over the next couple of weeks, many of us will have to deal with relatives that we can't stand.  By the way, I recommend a trip to Illinois, Michigan or Ohio to pick up some products that will help you deal with family stress, but I digress.

Here's my annual wish for this year: I ask for a little civility, just like in previous years.

Let's face it. We have a lot of problems in our cities, states, and our nation, but we won't solve them with yelling, screaming and tribalism (the thought that opposing views aren't just wrong, but are downright evil).

Just look at any social media page these days. A conversation that starts out about tax cuts or policing in communities immediately devolves into name-calling and personal attacks.

Now, I will not say we need to go back to the "old days" of the founding of the Republic, where our nation's leaders expressed opinions with excellent oratory and virtue.

If you take a close look at history, we said some pretty nasty things about each other. Thomas Jefferson was once referred to as “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.” That was pretty harsh rhetoric for the early 19th Century.

No, I'm talking about people of goodwill who can disagree without being disagreeable.  Ronald Reagan and then-House Speaker Tip O'Neil were actually good friends. However, he was a California conservative and O'Neil was a Boston liberal. They knew how to put their differences aside for the better of the country. What a concept.

If only Joe Biden and U.S. House Republicans could do that.

We can have a spirited debate. I've never had a problem with that. And on occasion, we lose our tempers.  Remember the story of the Son of Man and the money changers? A raised voice isn't necessarily bad. But when everyone is shouting, no one is listening.

So whether we're Republican or Democrat, Black or white, rich or poor, gay or straight, at the end of the day, for us to function, we need a civil society where reasonable people in good faith can come together and work out their differences and make our cities, states and nation a little bit of a better place.

Is that too much to ask for for Christmas, maybe? But I will anyway. Have a good Christmas, and slow down when you get to the Salvation Army bucket. Hopefully, the holiday spirit will last past the January White Sale.

Merry Christmas, happy Hannukah, happy Kwanza and happy Winter Solstice. Did we miss anyone?

I'm off to engage in my usual holiday tradition of watching Monty Python's "Life of Brian."

Happy Holidays, and have a great 2024.

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is an attorney and runs IndyPolitics.Org. You can reach him at abdul@indypolitics.org.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Shabazz: Wishing for the gift of civility this Christmas season