How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is one of Dr. Seuss's most beloved books.  Boris Karloff delightfully narrated it in an animated television special that has become a holiday classic.  It's been produced on the stage.  It was made into a live-action movie starring Jim Carrey.  The story has been enthralling generations of children.  No matter how old you get, there's always that warm glow when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes and he brings Christmas back to Whoville.

Alas, in the real world, we have a Grinch who is far more malevolent in the person of Dr. Fauci, who seems determined to steal Christmas this year.  He is calling for families to require that guests be vaccinated before participating in holiday cheer.  He hasn't gone so far as to suggest that Mom and Dad demand to see Grandma's vaccination card before letting her in out of the snow.  He's just citing facts and figures with solemn pomposity, trying to convince Americans that without vaccinations, we are all in for another round of infection after the holidays.

Image: Fauci the Grinch by Andrea Widburg from a YouTube image.

COVID has a death rate of just over 1%.  COVID does not generally cause serious illness in people without comorbidities such as lung problems, heart disease, cancer, and weakened immune systems.  Such people could also become seriously ill and die if they caught the flu, but Dr. Fauci has never suggested that people demonstrate compliance with flu shots before being allowed into holiday gatherings.

In short, Dr. Fauci wants to see families and friends gather for the holidays only after they have proven they have submitted to COVID shots.  Individuals who cannot, or will not, get a COVID shot are to be shut out of the celebrations.

No Christmas tree, no exchange of gifts, not even a slice of roast beast.  Just the smug satisfaction of knowing that loved ones have been turned away from the door at the time of year when we should be most open and caring to all mankind.  Perhaps the gift we need this year is to grow our hearts three sizes and embrace friends and family even if they don't have their vaccine cards.

Pandra Selivanov is the author of Future Slave, a story about a 21st-century black teenager who goes back in time and becomes a slave in the Old South.

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