Christmas has finally arrived, and here’s a line you’ve never seen in this column before: Thank God. If this holiday season has proven anything, it’s how much our community has matured.
By this time of year — if you’re at all involved in the community — you should be exhausted. Since the night before Thanksgiving, there hasn’t been a day or evening without at least one event on the LGBT calendar, from fundraisers to press conferences to toy drives. From sold-out concerts by both choirs to grants from Sapphire and the Dr. Hirschfield Foundation to keep our community growing to dinners, even a new film festival in New Hope. There have been gay pub crawls and holiday parties and award presentations. It’s been a non-stop activity time, and it demonstrates the growth of a community that now, literally, has something to offer every taste.
No matter which holiday you’re celebrating this year (or not at all), we as a community can celebrate our growth. And no matter what holiday you celebrate, it most likely stands for harmony, the golden rule and giving. That spirit should guide us in the coming months, so that hopefully we can come together more often as a community and not allow any issue or single goal from allowing us to be united.
Christ, Moses and Muhammad are seen as prophets. Prophets who had a mission. That mission was to unite their people around common interests and beliefs.
We as a community have a similar goal. Our mission is equality, and the way to get there is by uniting our community. We should help each other. Each and every organization in the community has worth. When we help each other, we make ourselves stronger, and as a united force we can accomplish our mission and, at the same time, create a vibrant community that cares for the needs of our community.
So the spirit of this time of year really does apply to our community. That spirit is that we really are a family — even, at times, a dysfunctional family — but think of that as you might a family sitting down for a holiday meal: You try to be polite and make it a good experience for all.
Happy holidays and a ho, ho, ho! (I couldn’t resist.)
Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He can be reached at [email protected].