The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: ‘Merry Christmas’ — not ‘Weep and Repent.’ And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form — by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token remembrance. . .
The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions — the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors —provide the city with a spectacular display, which only ‘commercial greed’ could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.
— Ayn Rand, The Objectivist Calendar, December 1976
You cannot have good will toward men unless you respect the right of other men to be free — while honoring your own.
That’s why there won’t be as much good will this Christmas as there might be, or should be. Millions of people believe that millions of other people do NOT have the right to be left alone. They believe in the use of force against their fellow citizens, forcing them not merely to leave other people alone, but forcing them to do things they believe they should do: wear a mask, take untested vaccines, drive electric cars in 6 years, eat only as woke Commie-fascist farm owners like Bill Gates believe they should eat, give up 30-75 percent of their income to the state … the list goes way, way, way beyond these few items.
Good will toward men is a beautiful thing. But you’ll never achieve it in a civilization where all men are not free. Remember that, because if freedom continues to diminish in our society, benevolence and good will toward your fellow man will go with it.
Nevertheless, savor the moment: Merry Christmas to all!
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