Camping Out For Thanksgiving

As we prepare to enter the Christmas shopping season each year, I'm always amazed at the lengths that people will go to get those great Black Friday deals. This year, people started lining up a week or more ahead of time. Absurdity doesn't even begin to describe the sight of tents that are set up outside of Best Buy and other retailers. Is saving 150 bucks on a flat screen television really worth spending a week of your life sleeping on a parking lot? If so, you've got some serious priority issues.....

And here's what I find so amazing about Black Friday. We all gather 'round the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day and give thanks for the things that we have in our lives. And then, the very next day, many people will risk bodily injury to themselves and others in order to buy cheap Chinese electronics. So much for being happy for the things that we have!

There, no doubt, will be incidents of people trampling over each other in order to get their hands on the limited number of "super-buys". There's just something about a $19 DVD player that brings out a primal aggression in people. And it seems to get worse every year. If I'm not mistaken, last year a woman died and people just casually walked right over top of her. How much worse can it get? I guess there are some things were dying for, but I seriously doubt that an X-Box 360 is one of them.

And to take things a step further, this year several major retailers announced plans to start their traditional Black "Friday" on Thanksgiving Day. Nice! So, when we're all sitting around the dinner table and the kids ask where Mommy is, we can tell them that she's bonding with the flash mob at Walmart. I wonder how long it will be before retailers start offering a Thanksgiving buffet for holiday shoppers. I can see the family gathering their plates of processed turkey and other microwaved goodies only to anxiously eat their holiday meals atop a pallet of cordless drills. Of course, the blessing would probably go something like this..."Today Lord, we give you thanks for the blue-light special in aisle five...."

Doesn't tradition mean anything anymore? Is this what our society has been reduced to??

Hey, I know it's nice to have a the latest I-pad and or a Hi-Def television with all of the bells and whistles. But in the the end, none of this stuff really matters. If your TV dies, you can simply go out and buy another one. You certainly can't do that with people. Making memories with your family and friends, especially during this time of the year, should be more important than any material thing.

And honestly, I don't really blame the retailers for doing what they do. They are in business to make money, plain and simple. Profits are their number one priority. It's always about the money. Sadly, people have become a distant runner-up to the all mighty dollar. But ironically, it's people, specifically the consumer, that dictate the behavior of these companies.

You and I only have a finite number of days on this earth. I plan to make the most out of mine. If you feel the need to spend Thanksgiving with droves of over-aggressive K-Mart shoppers, be my guest. But I think I'll pass on the door-busting super-buys and spend some time with my family and friends. It's always a much better deal in the long run.....

kw