Peace on Earth?

I was raised Muslim and revere a diverse set of faith practices today, but I have long been inspired by at least the ethos of Christmas. And as someone who has increasingly found joy and solace in winter sports, I must confess to appreciating its aesthetic (at least in North America), as well.

The rhetoric surrounding today’s holiday promotes beautiful things. Goodwill, joy to all, and peace on Earth are priceless principles worthy of celebration, whatever cosmology one maintains, or however co-opted any particular practice might seem.

Beyond the kneejerk cynicism embodied by the character of the Grinch, most critiques of Christmas that I have encountered focus on the consumerism promoted by a culture of giving and receiving gifts. It does certainly drive massive demand, whose economic impact is matched by its environmental destruction.

But—despite having written a Christmas song vaguely based on an economic critique—that view strikes me as painting with too broad a brush. After all, many of the most thoughtful gifts are crafted, recycled, or reused, rather than purchased. Similarly, shared experiences are gifts that don’t necessarily fuel the consumer economy.

In my mind, the most glaring disappointment with holiday celebrations is how they so often settle for mouthing words that could potentially mean something.

Few words, if ever realized, could mean as much as “Peace on Earth.” Yet while people around the world celebrate Christmas by the billions, few seem to recognize how the invitation to value, honor, and pray for peace runs into the reality of America’s military-industrial complex.

There are certainly threats to peace on Earth beyond those headquartered in & around Washington, DC. But none of them have ever rivaled the scale of the death & destruction that the Pentagon, the CIA, and their various supporting industries have enabled and spread across the planet for the past 75 years.

We should not be surprised by that history, given the prophecy articulated by the last war hero to occupy the White House.

I was recently reminded that the U.S. dropped more explosives on Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War—countries with which the U.S. was never at war—than were deployed during the entirety of the Second World War by both sides put together. America’s destructiveness has only accelerated and expanded since then.

How many Americans will sing Christmas carols this season while perversely cheering on the genocide in Gaza, or the proxy war in Ukraine, or the chance for Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman to make another buck by selling weapons to yet another dictator abroad?

With nuclear powers threatening escalation while already embroiled in a hot war enabled by lies and profiteering, and a belligerent head of state poised to once again lead the most powerful nation on Earth, the prospect of a Third World War looms large. It would threaten life as we know it, even more than the mass extinction that continues to accelerate during an era of supposed peace.

Never before has humanity more needed the sincere spirit of Christmas.

Another aspect of this season’s celebrations relates to hope—and for some, the power of prayer. Over the course of my life, since my earliest memories, I have found my wishes (when blowing out a birthday candle, or seeing a shooting star, or observing the Kaaba for the first time) dovetailing with those encouraged by today’s holiday.

May we all one day see Peace on Earth embodied as a reality. That would offer all people a great reason to celebrate and be merry.

I’ll keep writing in the meantime, and giving thanks for the many other voices who share that vision.