What the Funk is Going On

Well hello my beloved acolytes. I hope you have all recovered from your tryptophan induced comas over break.

Two weeks left to go and we are in the home stretch! With Christmas just around the bend and Thanksgiving's leftovers still digesting in our stomachs, it got me thinking the other day, what the funk is going on with the holiday spirit? Or lack thereof. Remember when the holidays used to be about charity, tradition, and time spent with your family? Apparently at some point during the 20th century it switched over to how much money we can spend and how awful we can be as human beings. I think it was probably the 80s.

Black Friday of course is the most egregious offender of this, the poster child for avarice. On Thursday we were all thankful for our blessings. On Friday we were thankful for semi-decent bargains. No doubt you saw the colorful ads for all the things that would be on sale. 40 inch flat-screens for $200! Gaming systems and iPods at ridiculously low prices! Computer prices nearly slashed in half! Not that any of us really even need that stuff. But what does that matter? People still bust out the credit cards. Buy now and pay later is the American way. Is it any wonder why our economy sucks? Maybe a big part of it is because we are really bad at managing our finances!

Each year more and more stores are opening earlier than ever, some at midnight or sooner. I wouldn't be surprised if next year people started camping out on Halloween to be first for Black Friday sales.

On Black Friday, capitalism is king. "Greed is good" as Gordon Gecko would say. Consume, consume, and consume some more! It's obviously the patriotic things to do. After all we've got to stimulate the economy somehow.

But of course the dark side of all this frenzied shopping manifests itself on the news. This year it was the woman who peppered sprayed a crowd of people to get to the front of the line. Or how about the elderly man who suffered a heart attack while dozens of people stepped over him to make sure they didn't miss any bargains? Not a single one stopping to help him.

Riots and violence tend to erupt on Black Friday. Some of this is media hype, but for anyone who's ever personally gone shopping on this dreadful day you know it to be fairly true. The crowds, the dog eat dog atmosphere, it can be overwhelming to say the least.

I've only been Black Friday shopping once in my life and I vowed to never do it again. It's just not worth it. Holiday shopping in general is stressful to me. I'd prefer to spend some quality time at home with my dog and the rest of my family. I'd rather make gifts that mean something for people then spend all the money I don't have on stuff I know is going to get used once or not at all.

For those of you who can handle the holiday madness and actually scored some great deals last week, good for you, you are an elite bunch in my opinion.  I don't know how you do it. But I'd still implore you to take some time to reflect and think about what the holidays really mean.

If you get a chance, try to make at least one homemade present for someone special. Give as much as you are able to The Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, or other fine charities.  Visit a nursing  home or volunteer for COTS. Just remember that there are scores of people out there who can't even afford a basic meal while you scarf down a tray full of sugar cookies on Christmas day. I'm going to try my best to be more charitable this year than I have in years past. I need to be able to practice what I preach. I hope the rest of you will as well.