You may think that I’m going to write about the tragic deaths of the people in Mumbai from the recent terrorist attacks, but I’m not. Those deaths are terrible and tragic, and my heart goes out to the people of Mumbai and those directly affected by this attack. But here in the United States we’ve elevated senseless death to an artform this year.
This year, a man was trampled to death by “frenzied” shoppers at a Wal-mart. These people were not standing in line for hours for food rations and were overcome by the sight of life-giving supplies. No, they stood in line for hours in search of cheap televisions and GPS units. They trampled — think about it — trampled a man to death storming into a store to buy cheap crap.
The people crushed this man to death and then complained when the store owners wanted to close the store to deal with this horrifying event.
“They had no control of the crowd.”
WHY SHOULD THEY HAVE TO? It’s a sale on cheap stuff.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?
Is there a vigil at the store today? Are the people responsible standing there in horror that they were a part of this? Of course, that begs the question of who is responsible? Everyone in that line who stepped over that man is personally responsible, not just the ones in the front. Each of us has personal responsibility for our actions. If you see a tragedy and just walk by, you have some responsibility.
Our culture of consumerism is also responsible. A culture that promulgates and promotes shopping as the highest form of patriotism is responsible. A culture that promotes buying crap we don’t need and probably won’t even remember buying in a year is responsible. Our economy is built on people continuing to buy more and more THINGS, not on providing services we need.
Please add at least one charity or non-profit to your wish list this year. Please ask at least one person to give a donation to a worthy cause, instead of buying you a gift you don’t really need.
Take personal responsibility for this culture of excess consumerism. Don’t just say it’s disgusting. Do something. I think there is a chance for something very spiritual in gift giving this time of year. It’s a chance to reinforce community connections. It’s a chance to share our resources and joys with our friends, family, and neighbors. It’s a chance to bring delight children with special gifts they will treasure for years.
Joyous Eid
Happy Hanukkah
Merry Christmas
Happy Kwanzaa
Blessed Solstice
Blessed Yule
Technorati Tags: black friday, consumerism, culture, holidays, gift giving, responsibility
. The fire of the season is easy to see with the lighting of Hanukkah candles and in the way our Christian neighbors light up the nights with decorative lights. The water, for many of us, appears in the form of snow or rain. The astrological symbol of the month, the keshet (archer’s bow), is often seen as the rainbow, which is the result of the blending of fire of the sun and water from rain, and is the symbol of G!(d)dess’s promise to humanity that the world will never again be destroyed through a flood.
