So, with christmas just around the corner, i wrote this little rant and scientific look at christmas. plz2feedbackpls Well well well, It's almost that time of the year again. When it snows a light snow as you pull up to your grandmother's for a fabulous feast of tourtiere and other seasonal favorites. It's the eve before christmas and the wine is good, and so are the people. Then comes the most anticipated moment of the night. When we make our way to the christmas tree where many pretty boxes are neatly stacked, all of them containing a token to demonstrate our love and appreciation for a certain family member. I always feel a certain uneasyness at this point of the night. What are we doing? Worshiping the material world? Glorifying objects? Arent there other ways of comunicating our appreciation for our fellow human? why do we have to BUY? And there lies the big Question. Why do we have to buy? What happened to Christmas? The truth is that this most arcane of traditions has been soiled and skewered by the corporate agenda. Bombarding us with advertisements 12 months of the year knowing that they need to secure their part of the Mind Share, because that jolly holiday season is right around the corner. It seems what is on everyone's lips (already, and we are november 26th) is "are you ready for Christmas?", "have you done your shopping yet?". My answer is always no. It's strange how the whole capitalist ideal, derived from a series of christian scholars such as John Locke, could find its source in bible passages. However there is a movement of christian purists out there who see the problem of Capitalism versus fundamental christian values. In a christnet.ch article titled CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO CONSUMERISM , the writer states "If we are interested in the plight of the poor, it is difficult to justify over-indulgence as our neighbors starve. There is no shortage of Bible passages that call us to show restraint and not hoard goods." In a world full of hypocracy, it's no surprise certain christians express their dissent towards their peers, picking biblical passages to justify their view just as John Locke did when trying to demonstrate why the right to property is one given to us by God, a natural right, and thus furthering the capitalist ideology. The fact of the matter is that this is a problem of interpretation, or rather what we want to interpret and what conclusions we are predisposed to lean towards versus a global empirical perspective, with no specific goal in mind. But then again, extracting information from biblical passages and passing them along as fact is highly unrecomended in the real world, for obvious reasons. Thanks to scholars like Adam Smith, the corporate world has enjoyed being in control of itself, meanwhile consumer rights have been largely ignored. Some grass roots anti-consumerism organisations do exist however, supporting the idea that consumerism has corrupted one of the most sacred christian traditions. Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping has become an underground icon of the movement with his wild in store antics and frequent arrests. These are only a few examples of movements trying to curve consumerism. Much work is to be done, and when you are cynical like myself, nothing will change. People are too stupid to realise what they are doing and the symbolism it entails. We are willingly obsessing over the material aspect as it brings a false sense of warmth and acceptance. The blind hope that our target will cherish and love its gift from you and hence in return love you more. Christmas has become a mirror of the society celebrating it. Plastic, corrupted, empty and meaningless. But when the snow starts falling, and the aroma of stuffed turkey lures me to my family christmas party, you can rest assured; I will be there. Enjoying my family and the great food, and christmas gifts i never asked for...
