When I opened my local newspaper the week of Thanksgiving, I couldn't believe what I saw. Attached to the front page was this colorful JCPenney post-it note describing how I could be among the first to shop for Christmas and get all the great deals by being at the local store -- at freaking 4 a.m.!
At first, I was offended that they would think I was so stupid and so gullible to want to march with the rest of the lemmings to their store to buy a boatload of stuff for Christmas. "Come early, or all the really good stuff will be gone!" Some marketing genius probably won an award for this promotion, but I think its creator should be pilloried. After a while, I realized we are a nation of lemmings and there was probably a line forming at JCPenney at that very moment. And some idiot journalist was covering it.
The post-it piece was so thoughtfully planned in red and green -- the Christmas colors of holly, pine trees, Santa's suit and candy canes. And the ultimate Christmas symbol -- money, which has become the real "reason for the season." Every year, we hear the same report in the news: "Retail store owners fear the sluggish sales that economists are projecting for this holiday season will spell doom for their businesses. If that happens, your life will be ruined, too. So, get out there and buy some stuff! Lots of stuff. Take a year (or five) to pay for it if you must; but, damn it, get out there and buy lots of stuff! Our way of life depends on it!"
Jesus is rolling in his grave and dreaming of the days when it was much more simple: He only had to overturn the tables of a few money changers in the temple to make his point. Today, it's tens of thousands of retail outlets and a culture built on the principle of consume, then discard, then consume some more. A lot more.
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