The Thanksgiving holiday is over for another year, now there's something to be thankful for. I love a good meal, but the Thanksgiving feast has taken on such monsterous proportions it just turns me off anymore. I guess I'm a man of simple pleasures. And all the over indulgance on turkey day only serves to remind me that my next least favorite holiday is just around the corner. Consumer Day, referred to by some as Christmas, which believe it or not , was once a religous holiday. It has now been transformed into a mass frenzy at virtually every retail outlet in the world. Wouldn't Jesus be proud!
Even with the world economy in a state of free fall, and North Korea having a showdown with South Korea, the sales adds in the paper take up twice the paper that the news does. I guess it all comes down to priorities. So while most Americans have more crap than they know what to do with, and their closets are full of mystery items from last Consumer Day, let's all run out and do it again.
And don't forget the decorations, an integral part of this madness. The same folks who have diligently kept the thermostat at eighty degrees all summer to save electricity, and scolded the kids for not turning off the lights when they leave the room. The same guy who told his wife to hang the clothes on a line in the yard instead of using the dryer will now be plugging in a million extra decorative lights and all kinds of crazy inflatable lawn characters. On a silent night you can step out on the front lawn and hear the electric meters buzzing away. Oh yea, that's the sound of the holidays. It's also the sound of global warming.
Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:
Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer. Who'd have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment, and spirituality would mix so harmoniously?" ~ Bill Watterson in Calvin and Hobbes
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