Typically, dear readers, this is the time of year when I sit
down to vent over some inflated holiday travesty. This entry started out as my Holiday Rant,
but as I trolled through my previous posts I realized that I have hit a bench
mark, 50 posts and three years. When I
started the blog I never imagined I would enjoy it as much as I do, and my hope
is you enjoy it as well, or in the least find my ramblings amusing. No-one is more surprised than I, with the
possible exception of my middle school English teachers who suffered though my
time in their classes, that I write for the experience of it all and enjoy the
outcome. I hated the whole idea of
journals in school (and cringe when I have to make my kids write in theirs) but
now, here we are.
In case you are an
avid follower of mine and have been waiting with bated breath for my
traditional holiday rant, here are a few reruns to tide you over to the end of
this piece. http://jim-afisheyeview.blogspot.com/2010/12/saving-by-attrition.html,
which are my post-holiday shopping revelations http://jim-afisheyeview.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-card-insanity.html,
where I discuss the double edged sword of holiday cards, http://jim-afisheyeview.blogspot.com/2011/01/4-gs-of-christmas.html,
Where I rant over the obvious insanity of the season as a whole.
Now if you read those posts you may believe I’m some sort of
humbug misanthrope, of course you are free to have your opinion. But as the foremost expert on me, I will beg
to differ. I love Christmas, or at least
the food, gifts, and parties. Now for
some history.
Before Point Break and the Matrix, and before Keanu Reeves
thought he could act, there was Bill
and Teds Excellent Adventure, which in my opinion is exactly the type
of movie Keanu should stick too. None
the less, the movie is a bit of a cult classic, and along with Valley girls,
likely did more to influence our modern speech patterns than is healthy.
However, the perpetually surprised, stoned duo (Yes duo, remember Alex Winter?
No? I’m not surprised) did have an excellent adventure and received some very
impressive advice from our dearly departed George Carlin, “Be Excellent to Each
Other.” (If you need a reason to laugh or remember George at his finest, follow
this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbZhpf3sQxQ)
I think regardless of your political bent, your religious
hobbies, socio-economic background or preference for Fox over NBC you can
agree, being excellent is a worthy directive for life. So I challenge you to
disregard the hate that’s on TV or the ignorance stemming from your great aunt
Sallies 3rd martini and do as the George asks…..Be Excellent to Each
Other.
As anyone who has ever spent time in New Mexico will tell
you, “things are different here” and I
believe that that difference has a lot to do with me abandoning the annual rant
for maybe something a bit more akin to “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Just so you
don’t think I’m getting soft, below is my original text for your use and
enjoyment.
Original Rant (abridged)
Recently it has been fun for the
news networks to take up the plight of the service/ sales industry employees
who are forced to work through the ridiculous hours of the Black Friday
commercial gorge fest. I’m happy to
report that I will not be partaking of the gorge fest, but not due to the
ramblings of the perfectly quaffed newscaster.
Instead my rational is a bit more selfish, and see, I’m big enough to
admit it. Really, the thought of waiting
in line, to fight off people, to again wait in line to pay, for a thing I don’t
need, offends me. This isn't to say I don’t
sympathize with the service workers who unjustly have to work at 12am, I just
cannot attribute my Black Friday abstinence to support of their plight.
This little scenario is just part
of the conflict that plays out between Halloween and Presidents day every year
here in America. History and religion
aside, I believe part of the intent of the federal holiday is to give the
machine a break, allow the oil of life to seep into the joints and generally
lubricate a better society. This belief
is in part fostered by the general pain in the (knee, neck, and ass) if feel as the holiday
season approaches. Regardless of intent,
Federal holidays are today just that, the Federal government has a day
off. Corporate America can choose which,
if any, to shut down. Indeed the issue rests not only with the Blue Collar
workers who are in the news today, but also with White collar workers who lost
President's day weekend in the 80’s, Veteran's day in the 90’s and never had the
chance to celebrate MLK day. The intent is gone, along the way something was
lost, and our joints will continue to suffer.
More dubious than the non-universality
of the Federal holiday, is the ridiculous double edged sword corporate America
swings. The cutting edge of the sword
axes the holiday from the workers to improve bottom line while the trailing edge subtly
promotes its own interests under the guise of holiday cheer. Enter the
corporate holiday card. Corporations
don’t want to wish you a Merry Christmas, they want to slip you an ad that’s
warm and fuzzy.
I am a fan of wishing folks “a
happy holiday” and have been called on the carpet a few times here in
Albuquerque, which is an overwhelming Christian city, to call it
Christmas. And to that I have to warn
folks. Since our government likes to keep separated from religion,
mandating that the holiday be called Christmas while maintaining its federal
blessing is a slippery slope. Sure that’s
the intent but it was also intended at a time when it was ok to persecute
people for their beliefs and as a nation we considered ourselves Christian. Times have changed, and things will continue
to change. What happens in 30 years when
Christians may not be the majority? Or suppose
the Purple Footed Ninja religion (made up) sue the feds to mandate their own
federally reckoned holiday, which in my opinion would only be fair. Would we
get another holiday, would there be a purple Friday? Would Glenn Beck spontaneously
combust?
Something to Think about……
