What I Want for Christmas

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am wondering for what people are thankful. I heard a story this morning about a woman who pepper-sprayed other shoppers at a Wal*Mart to get into the store quicker. Other stores report that shoppers were injured in stampedes to get in. Other stores have been open throughout the holiday while other waited until later in the evening to open, as if that were better. My brother told me a story today about a person who wrote an article comparing colleges jumping around in their divisions to get more money to stores opening on Thanksgiving and it all comes down to one thing: greed.

What we need is to return to good old-fashioned values. Please and thank you have gone by the wayside. Saying excuse me when you get in somebody's way is passe. People judge each other by the house in which they live and the car that they drive, not by their moral value. Hard work and perseverance are unimportant if the shortcut is easy but underhanded.

But the road is going to be long and tedious. It will require hard work and be filled with set-backs. The answers might come easily but executing them is going to be difficult and I worry if people are up to the task. The stakes are monumental but it is worth it if everyone tries. I challenge you to try to make the difference this year. Instead of buying a gift for someone, donate that money to a charity. Invite someone to your holiday table if you know they will be alone. Every time you shop, be sure to say please and thank you. Shop local. If everyone did something, we slowly might start getting this whole mess turned around. I am convinced that my actions will multiply and if my actions multiply, and your actions multiply, then we are starting to move in the right direction.