On Thursday, families across the country gathered to celebrate by giving thanks and taking time to appreciate all that they have. Members took turns stating their blessings proudly before lavish meals together, as Americans have done for generations.
However, by early Friday morning many of these same families were in long lines outside shopping malls waiting to begin a desperate race to acquire more and more cheap stuff. Images of frantic shoppers pushing and shoving to get the best sale items before they were gone were seen all across the country, as Americans showed just how little time they were actually willing to spend appreciating what they had, before shoving appreciation into the background to make way for acquisitiveness and greed.
After 9/11, President Bush repeatedly presented the idea that “the terrorists hate us for our freedoms!” While I’m not in any position to speak for “the terrorists,” I would guess that if there is a single, simply explained reason that they hate us, it has nothing to do with “our freedoms.” Frankly, I doubt that the terrorists could care less that Americans are free to go out at six in the morning to buy a $99 portable DVD player. More likely, it's that they hate a culture which frequently tends to say one thing and then immediately run out and do the opposite!
The fact that “Thanksgiving” and “The Biggest Shopping Day of The Year” are on back-to-back days is a perfect example!
Boy is that the truth!
ReplyDeleteI bet they can't wait for this freedom in Iraq.
Or maybe they are more worried about just having running water.
Well said. You would hope the news media would forget to show these scenes world wide. It's just too gross.
ReplyDelete