In just over 18 hours from now stores across the country will open their doors to throngs of eager shoppers, all looking to grab all of the doorbuster deals and low priced items they can. There will undoubtedly be pushing, shoving, arguing, and even some trampling involved. There will be a field of debris and destruction in the wake of these masses and there will be loads of merchandise stuffed into carts and then trunks. There will be winners and there will be losers. And over it all there will be corporations rejoycing. That sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving to me.
Yes, the national disease known as Capitalism Day, AKA Black Friday has now crept right into Thanksgiving proper. The first national chain to open on Thanksgiving Day will be Walmart at 8pm. Followed by Target at 9pm and then the rest soon to follow. No longer is family time important for either shopper or retail employee. No, selling and buying stuff is now the most important thing. Keeping multi-national corporations in the black is now more important than giving thanks and spending quality time with family and friends. It is disgusting and disheartening.
But even though it is morally wrong, people will still go out in droves later today to be the first in line to participate in this great new tradition of Black Friday. The lines will still be long tonight, the cash registers will still ring a' plenty, and no one will care one bit that they are doing so during the time normally reserved for family.
The multi-national corporations have done too good of a job brain-washing the public into believing in the value of Black Friday. Sure people say how bad the crowds will be or that they don't like the hostility involved with shopping on this day. But they still come out and do so. They still get excited when the ads are released and they can pour over the deals they may score. They still believe that shopping on Black Friday is a beloved family "tradition". What a sad joke.
No, shopping on Black Friday is not a tradition at all. It is a strange compulsion to buy stuff for others, but mostly for yourself, that they or you do not really need. It is a demonstration of just how gluttonous we have become as Americans that after we eat massive amounts of food we decide to spend money buying massive amounts of things. That last sentence makes it seem like Thanksgiving and Black Friday are the perfect match. On the surface they are of course. But I have always looked at Thanksgiving as a holiday less about eating as much you can and more about spending time with loved ones and friends, enjoying each other's company. A view that has been lost amid all the sound and fury of Commercialism and Capitalism.
The new motto for Thanksgiving: Eat, Eat, Eat....then Buy, Buy, Buy, with a course of Waste on the side.
I mean there are children still starving in Africa and Europe. Families torn apart as a result of the recent missle attacks in Israel. But that is over there and so far away, right? Well ok, let's look right here in America for a moment. We have 43 million people on food stamps, millions of people out of work, millions more who have lost their homes and/or are homeless. Untold millions of children who do not have enough to eat. But we, as a culture, believe that buying that new TV is more important than helping those in need at home.
Sure there is alot of charity that takes place during the holidays and there are many people who freely give their money and their time to great causes. However, there are far more people who feel their money is better spent on acquiring things for themselves and others that neither really needs. It just does not make sense to me at all.
I, of course, will not be participating in Capitalism Day tonight or on Friday itself. My reasons are simple; I do not have the funds and more importantly I do not believe in the idea of Black Friday. I don't want to support the idea that it is ok for these corporations to force their employees to work on Thanksgiving night, denying them valuable family time. I do not want this to become a new norm in America.
You too can do the same and you should. The only way these corporations will change their ways is if this new model is not profitable to them. That means you need to vote with your dollars. You need to chose to not be bewitched by the low prices, the doorbusters, and the allure of cheap electronics. But rather put your family time first. Put playing with your kids first. Make visiting with your grandparents, uncles, aunts , nephews, nieces first.
If we go along with this new model, before long Black Friday will become Black Thursday and Thanksgiving will cease to exist. It sounds hard to believe and laughable. But who would have thought five years ago that Black Friday sales would start on Thanksgiving night. The corporations don't care about traditions or family time. All they care about is making money and they will do whatever they feel will help them achieve that goal.
It is up to us, the comsumer, to determine what is approprate when it comes to our traditions and what is out of bounds. Again, do as you will. But remember that if you support this new model, then you will have validated the belief by these retailers that Thanksgiving and family time is really not that important to us. You will have validated the idea that shopping on Black Friday has become the new modern Thanksgiving tradition.
If that happens, which I am certain it will, I will be alittle saddened at the sight of it and what it reflects on this country as a whole.
Capitalism above all, right?
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