by Edgerrin Panaligan // Op-Ed Editor
The headlines are similar every year. Black Friday shopping experiences are ruined by injuries and aggressive riots over the holiday season’s hottest items and deals. When the holidays come around, a switch flips on within us American citizens. We feel an impulsive need to buy our families and friends gifts and material things to justify our love for them, but is it possible that we’ve gone overboard? A positive trend in recent years is that shoppers have learned to avoid leaving the house on Black Friday. Online retail powerhouse Amazon has been offering similar deals to compete with retail stores like Target and Best Buy, who have only offered their best deals in-store. People no longer want to go through the hassle of navigating through crowded malls and stores just to save a few dollars here and there, which is great for their own safety and security. Even though Black Friday sales have increased every year ($5 billion this year, per CNN), the problem still remains: The commercialization of the American holiday season has ruined the true meaning of Christmas. Quality time shared with family and friends has turned into a mishmash of, “I hope so-and-so likes the gift that I bought them.” The love that we have for those close to us has been quantified by the monetary value of the gifts we give to them.
“We definitely do live in a materialistic society,” said AEE English teacher Mr. Cramp. “We tend to overemphasize gift-giving as opposed to spending time together out of our own goodwill.”
The holiday season should be a time of joy and festive spirits, but it also shouldn’t be a time for American citizens to ignore all of the problems of the world that they live in. Many families won’t get the same opportunities that others have to celebrate the holidays properly, and that fact seems to go unnoticed by many. For a lot of people, Christmas will be just another day in the year while they continue to struggle to with problems such as a lack of shelter, food, or unemployment, among other hardships. It seems unfair to those individuals if most citizens are more concerned over buying materialistic goods and chasing the hottest deals. For those in a much more fortunate situation, they should consider giving back as much as they can to charities and volunteer organizations that try to spread the holiday joy to those that have fallen on hard times. The Salvation Army, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and Toys For Tots are among thousands of organizations worthy of consideration. Have appreciation for what you and your family already have, and try to spread the some joy to those in need this holiday season.
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