The Christmas season really is the great American holiday.
This is when we truly celebrate our culture. We are capitalists after all, and
what says “capitalism” better than Christmas? The Fourth of July? Forget that!
This is our season to be jolly. Let the cash registers ring,
hum, and ding! Alright, it’s true – malls are really disgusting, impersonal,
torture. Hell, you can’t even find a table in the coffee shop in Barnes and
Noble these days. Besides, as conscientious Americans, isn’t it our
responsibility to the economy – to our fellow Americans – to buy stuff all year
round? Stuff is proof that we are successful and happy. Stuff is our
fulfillment. Stuff is really the trophy for our patriotism. Stuff is how we
show that we are proud Americans. How else would we know that we are happy?
Much of my life has been spent working in, or with, retail.
We have all heard about Black Friday, right? This is when our retail businesses
are supposed to finally get “out of the red” and “into the black”, referring to
the color of ink in our ledger books. Is this the capitalism that we are
supposed to be celebrating though? No wonder that we are all scared to death of
the looming “fiscal cliff”. What kind of business model would allow us to
speculate on reaching the point where we might turn a profit after 11 months of
debt? Has the capitalism of our great American culture come to such a level of
stupidity that we are allowed to throw good money after bad for most of the
year and hope that we will see a return on that “investment” in the final
month? No wonder this holiday season seems to be lacking in excitement.
Business models are supposed to be based on sound logic with
reasonable and logical projections for leveraging success toward growth and
profit. Promises that investment will fall from the sky – if the gods in the
heavens are happy with their own successes – seems a little too much like
believing that there really is a Santa Claus. Successful business people need
to be just a little more realistic in their approach to how they spend their
money. Small profits must come before large profits. We need to be able to pay
our bills all 12 months of the year. Hard work, honesty, and responsibility are
the American ideals that most reflect our capitalist values. We don’t get
something for nothing, and we don’t deserve to make money off the backs of our
fellow citizens. We live in a land of opportunity where our values are
rewarded, right?
My bookselling experiences during the holiday season have
always been exceptional. If I didn’t pay my bills throughout the year, my
suppliers would not have shipped the books that I need for the holidays in a
timely manner and sales would have been dismal. Basically, that’s a sure path
to failure. Black Friday is and idiotic idea that is more about tricking
consumers into believing that it is time to get out and do their patriotic capitalistic
duty. There is just so much time left to spend your money in order to save. Let’s
create some pressure, some panic. Do it now! How awful! Ridiculous!
As a bookseller, the final run up to the holidays is always
fun. Books are stuff, but not the dumb stuff that has become the plastic
trophies of our cultural misconceptions. In fact, books, as stuff, fail miserably.
They are invisible to our neighbors and fellow citizens. Yes, they do
contribute to a lot of personal clutter, but they also enrich us. They stay on
our shelves, in our houses, and in our minds for far longer than most of the
other kinds of stuff. Best of all, we can share them and discuss them with our
friends and fellow citizens. As gifts, books are fun because they contain the
magic of ideas. Shared ideas are shared ideals – they are shared values. So, a
bookseller, has a wonderful opportunity to witness the true joy of the season.
When people shop for books, they browse a bookstore’s shelves quietly, contemplatively,
using intelligence and empathy to choose what will be most appropriate for each
on their shopping lists. This is a miracle to observe, and a privilege to be
able to help with.
What has happened to the holiday spirit? What kind of Grinch
is it that has tossed the garbage into our minds and gummed up our spirits?
Have we been so distracted by the noise that surrounds us? The politics? The
marketing? The small-minded, mean-spirited, selfishness of a what’s-in-it-for-me
approach to defining our American culture? Let’s keep in mind what this holiday
season is all about. Let’s celebrate the spirit of our American capitalist
ideas and ideals. Let’s shop for gifts that are NOT just the stuff that our
politicians and marketers keep sticking under our noses and look inside
ourselves for the pathway to empathy with our family, friends, and fellow
citizens. Let’s think about what it means to love and to give. Let’s lighten up
the burden and enjoy the process of thinking about others. The holidays are not
about stuff. They are not about the economics of stuff. They are not about the
responsibility for stuff. They are not about the pride of stuff. They are not
about the hunger for stuff. These holidays are for reminding ourselves that we
care about people – the idea of people, the ideal of people, the value of
people. These holidays are for reminding ourselves that we are of value – not because
of our stuff, but because of our people – our families, our friends, and the
society that we are a part of.
Alright, now let’s get out there and shop! The American
economy needs all the help that it can get. Do it with a smile on your face –
wish everyone a merry holiday and a happy christmas, be spiritual, be human, be
generous. Don’t burden others with your personal baggage, this is the time to
think and be positive. Don’t purchase what you can’t afford and pay your bills
when they come due so that next year you will begin the holiday season in a
better mood.
