Maybe today is a good time to remember some things …

I can think of few religions that don’t highly value kindness, compassion, hospitality, and other words that boil down to: be a decent person.

Oh, true, the ancient religions didn’t always preclude the ideas of raping and pillaging those you conquered, but theywere generally supposed to be nice to each other, which is not a great start, but it’s a start.

Today is, ostensibly, the birthday of Jesus, a man who legend tells us was nailed to a cross for saying “Why don’t we try being nice to each o...