On The Front Lines of Capitalism

On The Front Lines of Capitalism
Current mood: thoughtful

As we ramp up into the holiday season, I find myself thinking about capitalism, consumerism and how the shopping season has been blown so out of proportion. It's gotten progressively crazier each year with some retailers opening at midnight this year!

Yesterday there were reports of fighting amongst customers at WalMart, aggressive driving, verbal abuse, and general unpleasantness. I personally witnessed many of these things here at my job, although thankfully nobody started fighting. But the general vibe all day yesterday (11/25) was one of aggression, individual greed, and non-courtesy.

What would it take to get people to treat the holidays as something to enjoy with family and friends, on a low-key basis? How do we take a step back from the monster we've created? We are all a part of this, my friends, whether we admit it or not. How did it get so out of control?