Still learning lessons from Christmas classics

One night last week we came across the old, animated Christmas classic movie, “Frosty the Snowman.” Just had to stop and watch it again for old times’ sake.

Like so many Christmas classics, it is a movie with a message. While the magician is only able to think of himself and his selfish desires, Frosty puts himself in harm’s way to save Karen. He takes her into a greenhouse to warm her frostbite and ends up a puddle.

Of course, in the end, a new winter arrives and Frosty is back, rewarded for his selfless attitude.

Similar messages are delivered in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and “A Christmas Carol.” The real rewards are found in giving rather than taking.

One of my favorite holiday classics is “It’s a Wonderful Life,” in which George Bailey sees his friends come to the rescue because of his goodness. He realizes that there is more to life than money.

As I looking into “White Christmas” this week in preparation for story I wrote for this week’s edition, I was reminded of the power of turning our hearts outward and being there for a friend in need. As the soldier’s flock to the general’s inn for the closing scenes, the joy of community is a powerful message.

All of those messages are very timely in our world today, a world in which we have opportunities every day to turn our hearts to people who are lonely, to give of ourselves instead of taking, and to realize there is so much to be gained by serving someone else.

The Christmas classic movie message that is most resonant with me right now comes from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” An elf who is different than the other elves and wants to be dentist and a reindeer with a glaringly obvious physical feature that is different from everyone else.

They go out on their own to avoid the ridicule of being rejected, and in the case of Rudolph, being called names and mocked. The movie first aired in 1964 and has been on TV every year since.

Why is it with at least that annual reminder staring us in the face that we so often seem to have learned absolutely nothing? It’s one thing to disagree with someone’s political position, but we don’t seem to be able to simply have different opinions, we have to do some creative name calling while rejecting a person for his politics or her beliefs.

Last time I checked the folks in the legislative and executive branches were adults. Is it too much to expect an adult dialogue over a difference of opinion. We should be able to control the urge to denigrate someone for her ideas and instead try to listen to each other.

If there was just one change I could make to our culture in 2026, it would be to invite everyone who is thinking about calling someone else something other than their given name or official title to take a breath, ponder on the value of what he was about to say, and then bit her tongue.

The name-calling and cutting down isn’t required to make your point.

We should have learned that everyone’s different and that’s okay from Rudolph more than 60 years ago.