Holiday Insanity

What happened to Thanksgiving with your family?  What happened to being content with what you have?  What happened to being polite?  It seems to me we have definitely lost our way this Thanksgiving.  Stores are now opening on Thanksgiving day and evening as a way to lure shoppers in and boost sales.  Great for the store, not great for the employees, and I would argue, not worth it for customers.  Is it really worth sacrificing precious time with family just to get the 50 inch, non-name brand TV on a super sale?  If you think it is, that's your choice, but what about the people forced to sacrifice their family time so that you can get your bargain?  We live in a society where people are increasingly disconnected to their family, their neighbors, and to meaningful relationships.
Then there is all of the goodwill expressed by some people as they compete to get the prized bargain.  I watched news reports of people who seem to have lost their mind so they don't lose their chance at getting what they think they must have.  A bunch of people fighting in a Walmart leading to one woman fighting the police and being arrested, all on video.  A store worker trampled in a K-Mart.  Our local Franklin Mills Mall featured to women fighting and one pulling a taizer on the other.  It was a WWE level brawl.  My favorite is the story out of Georgia of two men fighting over a parking spot, one man hitting the other, and the guy getting hit pulling a knife and stabbing his assailant.  Both men are now in jail.  Happy Thanksgiving fellows!
Is this really worth it?  Can't we make the decision to put family first?  Do you need whatever it is so bad that you are willing to go to jail over it?  For what its worth, I made the decision to not patronize any store open on Thanksgiving this week.  I hope more people will chose to do the same.  But more important, I hope you will think about the value of relationships over stuff, even stuff on sale.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul