By Brian J. Karem

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery

None but ourselves can free our minds...

-- Bob Marley

Christmas has gone dark.

Or, in the words of the newest Hollywood Christmas hit movie "I am Legend" it's filled with Dark Seekers.

If you doubt this I can provide more than half a dozen press releases e-mailed to me this morning from so-called "Christian" groups who want to celebrate Christmas by sending me notice of protesters arrested outside of someone's campaign headquarters, notices about how Hillary Clinton is a minion of Satan, how the Middle East is filled with Satans we have to kill and finally, my favorite; how we should cherish our second amendment rights at Christmas time and support the repeal of any and all gun laws.

But that's just the entrance into the darkness.

Last week someone on the New York subway wished someone else a Merry Christmas. That alone was provocation for starting a fight because when one person said he didn't celebrate Christmas, the former revelers turned from saying Merry Christmas to throwing fists at a couple of Jewish youths. The only light at the end of this dark tunnel occurred when a Muslim youth helped out the Jewish youths who were being pummeled because they didn't celebrate Christmas.

So, let's get this straight before we go any further: When I wish someone a Merry Christmas I'm wishing them tidings of great joy, peace on earth and hoping to pass along a little good will toward my fellow man. If you celebrate Kwanza, Hanukkah or - my favorite - Festivus, then good for you. I'm not wishing you any ill will. It's just that I celebrate Christmas and please translate my wishes of joy and peace and good feelings into whatever holiday you're celebrating.

I can't tell by looking at anyone what holiday they favor and I confess I don't stop and ask everyone. To do that, it seems to me, would be absurd. But I'm not going to throw fists at you if you tell me you don't celebrate Christmas. I just want to pass along good tidings of great joy - and the aforementioned peace on earth.

I hope that's reasonable enough, but everywhere I go I see the Dark Seekers.

The War Machine is plenty upset this Christmas season at people who want to bring home our troops from the Middle East.

Bill O'Reilly and a host of others would like to throw these people out of the country. Peace Bill. Get a life - then watch the upcoming movie "War Made Easy" a great documentary that will explain the idea of perpetual war to you. That's my Christmas gift to you Bill - and the rest of the radical right. For the NeoCons I'm going to send them the movie and a couple of free samples of Ex-Lax to release the pressure.

I think I'm going to get Hollywood something too because I'm feeling a lot like Will Smith did in "I am Legend" - alone and waiting for a peaceful greeting from a lifeless dummy.

Take a look at what passes for Holiday entertainment this year - Will Smith is the last guy on a plague-ravaged world. Or we can watch (snicker) Rambo as an aging steroid case kill bad guys in another jungle, or we can watch Johnny Depp as a serial killer, or . . . Yeesh.

Finally, I want to get someone else a present. I don't know this person, but he robbed my wife at the WalMart in Germantown last Sunday. He made off with her purse, her credit cards, broke into our car, damaged it, took money, personal property, presents and left my wife feeling violated.

We spent an entire day closing and opening all kinds of bank and credit card accounts, getting the house re-keyed and our car fixed.

It was frustrating, but somewhere someone else is happy because they got something for free this Christmas. All it took was for someone else to be exploited and violated.

I wish for this person some self-respect for Christmas, some maturity and some humanity.

I hope they can see life through someone else's eyes.

I hope they cease becoming Dark Seekers. I hope as Will Smith said in "I am Legend" that he becomes infused with love and music.

Will was quoting Bob Marley.

Because every little thing is going to be all right.

Peace on Earth. Good Will Toward Men.