Probably the time of year with the holidays and all…but I had not one, not two, but three conversations today about the world’s religions, global consciousness, and how the internet is rapidly accelerating the propagation of that consciousness. It made me stop and think, examine my memories, and realize why I’m thinking about the holiday season this year on a much more global scale.

There is currently a fair amount of agitation and debate about so-called “politically correct” celebrations in America this season (vs. just Christmas). In my opinion, this angst is a direct result of increasing global consciousness and the growing awareness of other ways to practice faith (and that much of the world practices something other than Christianity). Part of it could be the war in Iraq and the various religious factions at odds there of which we’re learning. Part could be caused by an increasing assertion by people that are non-Christian to celebrate their point of view.

What I am coming to believe, however, is that the blogosphere is a platform for voices to be heard in ways previously not available and are an amazing counterpoint to media that tends to sway people to one common point of view. Questions are public. Counterpoints are public. Opinions are public. They’re searchable and ranked in Technorati and Google Blog Search.

The photos above bring back a lot of memories for me and are illustrative of how my worldview and consciousness around Christmas was shaped. The one where I’m a cowboy was special since I loved that outfit. The other — with my sister and I in front of a painted window — is special since my Mom (who is now deceased) painted those by hand for many, many years on our front picture window. For me as a kid, the season was all about Christmas trees, Santa, presents, painted windows, cookies, Grandpa’s, Grandma’s, Auntie’s, Uncle’s and cousins, snow (and, oh yeah, that Messiah that was born in Bethlehem!). [Read more...]