On the face of it the event we celebrate on October 31st seems innocent.  Parents and their kiddos get to act silly together, visit neighbors they avoid the rest of the year, and spend an evening not staring at the tube.  All good stuff, right?

Oh, but the flip side is the risk taken by little goblins dashing across streets without looking, bagging a million calories, knocking on the doors of total strangers, damage done by pranksters’ “tricks,” and the emphasis on the devilish and weird.

Come to think of it, the mask is an appropo symbol for Halloween.  Whether worn by fun-seeking children or looting protestors, it hides one’s identity.  Deception was the first tripwire that soiled our paradise-planet.  The Carpenter from Nazareth warned, “Don’t fall prey to deception.”  

Or was He just a killjoy?