It's the most wonderful time of the year, so make sure you have plenty of money or else the spirit of Christmas might be lost on you.
The days when all you wanted for Christmas were your two front teeth are dead and gone. Now, all people want for Christmas is a LED television and a new car.
As I lay comatose on my couch after the copious amounts of turkey I consumed Thursday night, this country's oniomania pushed me to the edge. Every channel had a surfeit of mind-numbing advertising, all in an effort to clean out the viewers' bank accounts.
"Buy this," "Door buster savings," "Only $200." A person's brain can only take so much consumerism before it explodes.
When did Christmas transform from spending time with your family and loved ones into total materialism? I must have missed that memo.
Americans have been brainwashed into spending every last penny they possess in an effort to show people how much they care. I remember when all it took was a nice phone call or, if you were feeling fancy, a greeting card to brighten someone's holiday. Now it's about spending hundreds upon thousands of dollars to try and prove your love.
When looking back at past Christmases, which is remembered more? A holiday where you got exactly what you wanted or the year that you got nothing?
Nine times out of 10 the year you ended up disappointed is the one that leaves a lasting impression. When the perfect present isn't under the tree, it ruins the whole holiday.
I am not one of those people that have the "Keep Christ in Christmas" bumper sticker, nor do I really care about the religious aspect of the holiday, but why does every depiction of a happy holiday include countless amounts of gifts?
The holiday in the United States has become nothing more than another excuse for corporations to shove needless merchandise down our throats.
During this month every year, almost without fail, I always feel as though I am disappointing people. Since I am a poor college student I do not have very much money to spend on presents for people; let alone provide presents that cost more than $10.
The real spirit of Christmas wouldn't care, but since Americans are so hell-bent on cleaning out their accounts over this holiday, it makes me feel as though I am letting people down since I have very little to offer.
I should not feel bad for trying to spend time with my family on a holiday, but the way this country spends relentlessly makes it very difficult to not feel guilty for showing up empty handed.
Money-hungry companies have started to make Christmas like Valentine's Day: a holiday with no real meaning that is only celebrated in order to increase companies' revenue.
E-mail: jameson.butler@ubspectrum.com
