opinions // 20 theotherpress.ca A not so happy holidays » When did a season of love and cheer turn into hatred and resentment? Mercedes Deutscher Staff Reporter [ss Christmas as a season of love, joy, and caring. I look forward to it all year, so I get in the holiday spirit when fall strikes. Ten years ago, it was common to see those around me getting excited too. Today, if I so much as breathe the word “Christmas” before December, I’m looked at as if I’m a monster. One of the arguments that I’ve heard is that by getting ready for Christmas, I’m showing disrespect to our veterans and Remembrance Day. By no means do I place less significance on November u. I wear a poppy and I’m very conscious of the moment of silence. Just because I’m excited for an upcoming holiday doesn’t mean I’m showing disrespect to another. I recognize that many members of service will be abroad during Christmas, and that some people will not make : : an easy and happy time for all. : Some people have nowhere to : go due to either homelessness, : estranged relations with : family, or no family at all. In : other cases, impoverished : families may not be able to : afford gifts or food. Some people claim it’s insensitive : to get so worked up over : : Christmas because others have : : hardships that prevent them it home. So why not utilize Christmas to further respect our troops? Write letters and send care packages to those abroad to show that you're thankful for their service during the holiday season. Donate to foundations that support veterans and families of those killed in combat so that the holiday season is : easier for them. It shows that : you care, and caring for our : service members is the main : purpose of Remembrance Day. : phenomenon of the holiday : season is the so-called “war : on Christmas.” People have : been insistent on using “Happy : : Holidays” in replacement : of “Merry Christmas” as : a greeting, claiming it is : attacking other holidays. I find : this hilariously hypocritical. : Even if they don't celebrate : Christmas, they know that it’s : a greeting that wishes good : cheer. There are other winter : holidays besides Christmas, : like Hanukah or Kwanza, to : name a few. Some people don’t : celebrate a holiday at all. So it : doesn’t matter what holiday : you celebrate, but the meaning : behind your words. If someone : came up to me and wished me : a Happy Hanukah, I would : be happy. I may not celebrate : it, but that person is simply : wishing me a happy holiday : season. An increasing The holiday season isn’t : from enjoying the season. But : there is a solution. Is it not : the season of giving? There : are so many ways to bring joy : to people who are struggling. : Charities of all shapes and : sizes help by donating presents : and food to less fortunate : Christmas dinner to people on : the streets. These foundations : are always looking for help. : Small things count too. Invite : a friend into your family if you : know they will be lonely on : Christmas. Spreading joy will : also bring peace within. : the holiday season is that it’s : become too commercialized. : Christmas decorations are in : stores as early as September, : and while I feel excited when I : see them, others are disgusted. : Christmas is a profitable time : of year and you can't blame : a company for wanting to : capitalize on that. What’s : important is to realize that : not all of the joys of Christmas : come with a price tag. The gifts : will fade but the memories will : not. to be excited about Christmas; : everyone is different. I’m : just hoping that some new : perspective will make : Christmas less of a negative thing and bring it back to its : true meaning: spreading joy : and loving all. families. Shelters offer a hearty The largest complaint of I'm not expecting everyone The right to die » An ovation for those who bow out with grace and dignity Elliot Chan Opinions Editor M opinions @theotherpress.ca Bo’ Maynard—a 29-year-old who was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour—decided to travel from California to Oregon where assisted suicide was legal, so she could “die with dignity.” After the events, we were all left wondering about the ethical repercussion of such actions. We must understand that Maynard did not wish to die in this manner. She did not want such a disease, none of us do. Once the likelihood of a cure is dismissed, the only thing left is for the cancer to take over, which would then be a. I : followed by a long, lingering : death because of Maynard’s : youth. None of us want a : long torturous death either. : To make such an irreversible : decision is not something : we can take lightly, but that : choice should nevertheless be : offered. : than death—at least some : of us living think it is—and : although there are optimists : out there that believe in : miracles, what would have : likely happened if Maynard : stayed alive is that her pain : would have been extended, : she would become a burden _ : to her family, and she would , : have withered away slowly. She : : your last week on Earth? : Maynard went out into nature, : : celebrated her husband’s : birthday, and spent her last : weeks and days with the : people she loved. We can : only be so lucky to have that : experience ourselves, assisted : suicide or not. : did not take the cowardly way : out. She was brave enough to : understand that her vessel on : this world had failed her. : Assisted suicide, unlike : euthanasia, is a last resort : that should not be withheld : from those wishing to die : with grace—although Iam : not necessarily convinced that : there is ever grace in dying. Natural death, incidental : death, or spontaneous : death all lead to the same : conclusion. For most of us, : we cannot predict how we are Sometimes life is worse : thinking of death. I love : where my imagination goes, : the curiosity that fuels me, : that tempts me. But I hate : knowing that my whimsy : isn’t something fabricated, it’s : going to pass. We get greedy with life : the older and sicker we get. : We want one more sunrise, : one more adventure, and one: : more story to tell. Maynard got : : that last day. She knew exactly : : when it was,on November1. — : What would you do with I both love and hate What would you do with your last week on Earth? : the inevitable. I contemplate : my ideal death, and I cannot : imagine one. As someone : who is healthy and happy, | : cannot consider my own death : without thinking of those : around me. It’s unfair for me : to think about my demise; it’s : selfish. For those of use who : are healthy and living, we : cannot judge someone for the : way they want to go, we can : only offer them assistance, : guidance, love, and options.