Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s well-known poem, known to most of us as a hymn, “I heard the bells on Christmas day,” was written 150 years ago, but it remains popular today. While most of us probably can’t remember all of the words, his final message in every stanza, “Peace on earth, good will to men,” appears everywhere we look during the holiday season.

These words certainly don’t sum up what’s going on in the world, as well as right here at home this year, and we were somewhat taken aback when we learned that when Longfellow wrote his lyrics, the world around him wasn’t such a peaceful place, either.

It was during the American Civil War, so his message then, as it would be today, was uttered in an atmosphere of turmoil, killing, hate and resentment. It was a plea for a kinder, gentler America.

Most of the news has been bad — very bad — of late, such as the horrible death of several American hostages the past few months, and the senseless killing of 131 students at a military school in Pakistan last week.

Here at home, we’ve had more gunmen opening fire on innocent victims, including their own family members, and protests because of racial unrest. We never know where and when the next act of violence will occur — and we now realize that we’re not even safe on our own home soil anymore.

It seems to be too much to ask that those with differing beliefs and philosophies love one another, but at the very least we need to learn to be tolerant and find ways to get along.

If we look back over history, we see that while the world appears to be rapidly changing, in some respects, problems of intolerance never seem to go away, and get passed down from generation to generation, century to century.

Longfellow’s words could easily have been written yesterday.

This holiday season, let’s hope his wish for “Peace on earth, good will to men” comes to pass in the coming year, and we can all learn to peacefully co-exist. This Christmas, be especially thankful for your own community, friends and family.