So, what thought comes to mind when you think of the holidays? I realize the answer will be different, depending on your age. As a kid at home, it's exciting. As a teen, it is boring and uninteresting. When the children come along, the excitement returns, but in a different way. Once the kids leave, the grand-kids come along. Then, unless you are one of the few fortunate people, the kids and grand-kids move away, and all of a sudden, it gets a little lonely.
When I think of the holidays, a number of visions come to mind. Christmas morning brings to mind me, sick on the couch, throwing up into a bucket. I would become so excited over what I was getting that I would be a wreck. (This went on until I was 20)
I think of families getting together, putting on a loving face, but wearing their "I couldn't care less about you" face the remainder of the year.
I used to enjoy looking through the JC Penney and Sears catalogs that arrived around Halloween over and over again, marking what you wanted. We weren't wealthy, so I knew I wouldn't get it all. Still, it sure was fun.
I think back to the very early mornings, when dad would get out the old Bell and Howell 8mm and, while mom held the bank of lights, he'd shoot my sister and I sleepily leaving the bedroom.
I remember gathering old toys, donated food and Christmas tree, and setting them in from of one of our neighbors house, who had 18 kids.
The one word, however, that resonates through my mind when I think of the holidays is EXPECTATIONS. A lot is expected of everyone during this season and are expected to be met. You have to be here, you have to be there; you have to eat this, you have to eat that; you have to like your gift, you have to like your food, etc, etc, etc.
Holidays today are simply a way to get off work and get together. The purposes behind the seasons are completely ignored. How many children celebrate the lives of the presidents during their time off from school for President's Day. Why do we give thanks for the day that basically kicked off the annihilation of an entire race. Do we even know what happened? Do we even care?
I know I don't ... care about holidays, that is. I see these holidays as interruptions during the week. Nobody celebrates them for the reasons they were created, so why celebrate at all? Think about it for a second; isn't the last thing a veteran of a war wants is to re-experience the sounds of a war? Fireworks are fun, pretty, cool ... they are not representative of our freedom, at least to most of those watching them.
The one that really gets me, though, is Labor Day. Why do we celebrate the worker, the labors, the factories and technologies, by closing the plants. If we are really proud of our accomplishments, why not open them up during this holiday. Invite people in to see how things are made, and what their neighbor does each day at work. Now that's a celebration!
We live as a natural extension of our government. No matter what we do, we can call it whatever we want, and that is what it becomes. We can simply rewrite history to fit our agenda, and nobody seems to care. During holidays we're told how to celebrate, and we're simply talked into believing that's how it's done. Don't you notice this? We're led like sheep to the slaughter. And as long as we are fat, dumb and happy, we're happy ... isn't that sad?
W
No comments:
Post a Comment