Oh, I know times are different. Back then, men who had their very lives invested in demonizing and killing those on the other side used Christmas as a reason to come together across battlefields and shake hands, speak of home, trade small gifts, and even exchange addresses. They actually put down their guns, left their trenches, and trusted "the other" not to kill them as they approached with good intentions. To think that it all started with the Germans placing candles on trees, and singing Stille Nacht. At one point during the night, the Germans and Brits were signing the same carols in different languages. Each time I wrap my mind around that, I get misty. I swear I do.

Today we use Christmas to start wars, even though the only bullets and artillery we use on each other are hateful words and personal insults.

Come on DU. We claim to be on the same side. We claim to work toward the same goals. We claim to have the same core beliefs. If those things are true, let's put them aside for a short while. Just a short while. Do we have that within us? Soldiers with an extreme hatred for one another were able to do it for 2 days in two consecutive years at Christmas. Would that we could put our differences aside the same way, if even for three days.

We all know it's a given that the Senate version of HCR is going to pass before Christmas. No amount of argument is going to change that. No amount of chest pounding will change it. No amount of "We win, You lose" is going to make a single bit of difference. All those things do is harden hearts and close minds. Let's at least agree on this one thing: Good or bad, the Senate version of HCR will be voted on and passed before Christmas. So, I propose we stop arguing about that particular issue.

After Christmas, when the next thing we look forward to is getting the bill through conference, we can drag out the bullets, artillery, and poisonous gasses once again and go back to slaying each other with hateful words and insults.