The message being that this is the holiday season, and perhaps for a day or so we can take a holiday from vitriol, political differences, distemper, and reflect on the notion that some things have moved over the past decade or two for the better.
And if you want to use the comments for Christmas -- your faith may want a slightly different holiday -- greetings, that would be a positive step.
Not everything, and not in every way, is better. If you are in one of the places that is
being shelled, bombed, strafed, fought over by armies, rocketed, mortared, and all the other ingenious schemes that human beings have found to meet interesting people and kill them, or simply kill them without bothering to meet them first, this remains a much sadder time of the year. Perhaps next year will be better.
If you are in one of the places that is being run not by its citizens but by foreigners -- Mr Assange gives us an ever-increasing list of those -- including places that until recently thought they had effective self-government rather than government by Ambassador, well, perhaps we Americans should reflect on the good fortune that our country is at least only being messed up by our own people, rather than having ill-meaning foreigners lurking in the wings. And perhaps we may resolve for the future to cease being those ill-meaning foreigners when we go abroad.
Until then,
Season's greetings as appropriate, and Happy New Year!