Good deals have negative costs

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may have come and gone, but those days are merely the opening ceremonies of the Kringle commercialism contest. It’s okay that people want to have nice things and good deals. But with all of these bargains during the season (or around almost any holiday) are we selling something short for all of this?

Surely we are overlooking our decency towards one another, starting with those who work in retail. It’s doubtful that many retail clerks got to enjoy their Thanksgiving, as many stores were open until mid-afternoon, and then again by 8:00 p.m. Hardly time for enjoying a good dinner and family. And don’t forget that many of these same workers would go to work extra early for the Black Friday rush. That leads to the next dehumanized step.

It seems that shopping rushes are now turning into an experiment of survival of the fittest. Even the Chadron Walmart followed suit. Huge crates of junk everywhere had numerous people with their hands firmly pressed against a coveted portion of the plastic-wrapped pallet, as if they were marking their territory. The looks people gave to others who eyed their coveted spot were reminiscent of a dog guarding his bone.

But  shopper hysteria is in the extremes throughout the entire country. This year in San Antonio, a shopper pulled a gun on another customer for cutting in line. In Lithonia, Ga., a shoplifter died after being severly subdued. Last year in Los Angeles, a woman used pepper spray to beat others to the best deals.

Some may say that these are purely isolated incidents and are only reported because of their rareness. For small towns like Chadron, this may be true, but stand back and look at people (from memory or YouTube). People converge on crates of fresh goodies like pigs on a trough. But at least pigs pile on out of need, what’s our excuse?

No one is innocent here; everyone wants to get at least something nice for themselves. But to tell ourselves that we’re “Keeping ‘Christ’ in Christmas,” or that we still value family as number one during the holidays is becoming a big joke. We have to face facts: the almighty dollar and what it can buy are our new Lord and Savior. Until we can prove it by restraining ourselves and resisting over-materialism, Americans have no reason to claim otherwise.