My absolute favorite Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life.

Since discovering this gem at the Tivoli Theater during summer school in Chattanooga, I have watched it countless times and it never tires me.

The reason it never tires me is because I believe it is still relevant and will always remain so as long as there are George Baileys in the world.

You see George Baileys around here all the time but may not recognize them as such. Yet they are.

Being classified as a George Bailey should be worn as a badge of honor in a world where jaded and cynical views have become the norm.

Look at George Bailey’s life. Born in Bedford Falls, he stayed in Bedford Falls despite a pain to see and explore the world.

He sacrificed his savings to send his brother to college while he stayed home and tended the family business.

Often thinking himself a failure and brought to the brink of suicide on an icy bridge on Christmas Eve, George was reminded he was not a failure when he was given the rare chance to see what the world might be like without him.

What George discovered was that he touched more lives than he thought he did, providing the citizens of Bedford Falls with affordable housing, compared to the housing opportunities afforded by the evil slumlord Harry Potter.

More than this, he gave back to his community and worked to make it a better place despite never having the opportunity to see the world as he wanted to.

I like to think that after he became the richest man in Bedford Falls he did get that opportunity but knowing this through a subpar sequel would be a disappointment.

I see so many people knock the city they live in and I believe they should be more thankful and not see coming back to their hometown as a sign of failure but as a sign they returned to make it better.

You see George Baileys everywhere. You see George Baileys in the countless local businesses here and they certainly couldn’t be classified as failures. You see George Baileys when you see college graduates return with a nugget of an idea to make their communities better.

This is why this movie inspires me. This movie gives me hope that instead of mourning lost opportunities as I have caught myself doing, we should embrace the situation we are in and move forward, helping to make our community a better place.

I was guilty of this when I returned from a weekend visit to the Alexandria and D.C. area but after talking with the friend I visited and getting composure of myself I decided that instead of bemoaning my place in life right now I should be thankful for it.

This is what I want for Christmas, to be more like George Bailey and accept where I’m at and for people to stop and thank the George Baileys of the world who have built businesses here or have come back to share their vision and ways to make their community a better place — Lance Martin

Lance Martin is editor and publisher of rrspin.com