Agabus (mark adams)

Jennifer Waters of the Wall Street Journal writes, “Say goodbye to Thanksgiving — and Black Friday while you’re at it. Retailers are wrecking holiday time for shoppers and shop workers alike” (link). It’s true: our Thanksgiving holiday, instituted by Abraham Lincoln during the bleak years of the Civil War, is fast becoming a day of thanklessness. Consumerism has completely overrun our sensibilities.

Picture the scene: long cues at registers, people jockeying for position, customers grabbing and pushing… all so that a person can save a few bucks on something they either didn’t need, or could have purchased at some other time. Think also of the employees, many of whom would rather be at home, if given the option.

There’s a lot of talk about boycotting Target or Wal-Mart on Thanksgiving (yes, these retailers will be open on Thanksgiving). Really? People have to think about it? Why is it that our minds don’t naturally draw us to our friends or family, or the needy? Why is it that we are so programmed that visiting Target on Thanksgiving is even a consideration? The reader might well ask if I plan on joining the boycott. No. Simply put, I plan on being with my family. I no more want to visit Wal-Mart on Thanksgiving than I want to get a hair cut or buy a car on that day. I say, forget about what you want to buy, forget even about the boycott, but simply spend time with friends and families. If enough people adopt this mindset, retailers wouldn’t even think of being open on such a holiday.

Similar Posts:

• Suggested: A Thanksgiving protest
• Which Thanksgiving?
• Thanksgiving
• Giving thanks in difficult times
• Thankful

© 2012, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.