Taking a look behind what goes 'viral'

Who doesn't believe in Santa Claus? At this time of year, a spirit takes possession of much of the globe.

It's as jolly, as old Father Christmas ever could be, if such a kindly old gent lived at the North Pole. It's very real and like the spirit that possesses many parts of Asia at Chinese New Year: togetherness and "feeling connected," a spirit "gone viral".

There's the diametric opposite, the Spirit of War. Today, former president George W. Bush is vilified for the Iraq invasion, but five days after the invasion began, in 2003, the Gallup Organization showed that 72 percent of people in the US supported war against Iraq, and approval for Bush went up to 71 percent. The unfolding scenario prompted memories of reading Erich Fromm's book, The Sane Society. He declared that entire nations could go "insane".