When I was younger, I always loved the holiday season. I loved getting together with family and presents and food... then I grew up. Now the holidays make me sick. Not really the holidays themselves (the ideals and morals they are based on are nothing I am against), just what they have become. Black Friday is by far the WORST part of the season. This awful day is nothing more than an entire day dedicated to teaching our children that it is okay to trample, punch, kick, beat, yell at, and (in some cases) kill fellow humans over MATERIAL POSSESSIONS. I don't know if you all realize this, but that is what you're fighting over. Meaningless material possessions. You are camping outside of stores, getting in fights with strangers, trampling other humans, all in all acting like complete neanderthals over material possessions. Let me ask you this, is that DVD player really worth it? Is that digital camera that important to you that you are willing to act like a complete ass to get it? I bet if we recorded people shopping on Black Friday and played them the tape after, they would be ashamed. And they should be. We all should be. Ashamed that we allow this insanity to continue. When is someone going to stand up and say "enough is enough"?
Now I know that there are some of you who are going to say "Black Friday is good for the economy" and "Not everyone acts like idiots on Black Friday". I will agree that not everyone acts like a complete ass on Black Friday. My point is that despite the maybe 30% of americans that act like civilized humans on this day, there are 70% who aren't. There is not a single material possession in this world that is worth it. In a perfect world, this day would be abolished. But until someone wises up and realizes that there is more to life than material possessions, our greed will continue to be at the forefront of the holidays. The holidays are no longer about spreading hope and peace and joy and good will, they are about who spends the most money on their friends and family. Maybe instead of fist fighting with strangers over PS3's and crock pots, we should focus on what the holidays are REALLY about. Spend Thanksgiving being thankful for something or someone. Spend Christmas celebrating the birth of Christ (if that is how you choose to) or spending time with the people you love and cherish. Let's get back to the feel good cheer of the holidays. Throw aside greed this year and spend time focused on what really matters. Maybe if enough of us civilized people boycot this pathetic day, it will eventually become nothing more than a bad memory.
