Rushing through life no way to live

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Some co-workers and I went for lunch the other day. Upon entering the restaurant, one of my compatriots immediately exclaimed her disgust.

It seemed that the eatery had already begun putting up Christmas lights.

Of course, I assume that they’re Christmas lights. Admittedly, there weren’t Santas or baby Jesuses over them, so it’s possible that simply they’re really late Diwali lights and this entire column is without a point.

But I digress.

On this occasion my co-worker was annoyed, not because it’s only Nov. 1 and it’s far earlier than the traditionally accepted date to begin honoring Christmas, but because the restaurant completely had skipped over Thanksgiving, which to her is the better holiday.

Now, my co-worker might be a little crazy, but she is onto something. Her comments got me thinking of all the Christmas items I had seen this weekend as I went on a fruitless quest to numerous retail establishments. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I did find more holiday decorations than any sane person ever would need.

Now, Christmas creep is not exactly a new topic. Gregg Easterbrook, in his wonderful “Tuesday Morning Quarterback” column, has a regular feature detailing the many abuses of retail America pushing early Christmas reminders in its endless pursuit of holiday dollars.

In fact, I have a feeling that this year will be especially bad, as the depressed economy — heartened by news that maybe, possibly the recession is over — hopes that consumers suddenly will start opening up their wallets to feed the eternal greed that is the modern American consumer society.

Frankly, I’m kind of surprised that we already haven’t been deluged by commercials listing all the wonderful deals to be found on the grand American holiday that is Black Friday.

Seriously, have you ever been to those early sales? The St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions really could shape up their defensive lines by recruiting some of those shoppers.

However, the point of all this is that I began to wonder why we’ve begun rushing time the way that we have. Why are we already getting ready for December in the middle of October? Are we really that desperate for the year to end?

What are people missing as they’re busy planning their New Year’s Day parties?

Holidays are wonderful things. They’re a chance for people to gather together with friends and family and spend some time reflecting on what they have, while enjoying great food and drink.

But holidays shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of existence. We shouldn’t be planning our years out solely based on when holidays occur. I mean, as my friend recognized, by doing that we’re already missing out on other holidays.

It can be argued that Thanksgiving really isn’t being missed. After all, I fully anticipate that on the actual day, the restaurant in question will be closed to allow its workers to celebrate.

Still, why does Christmas rate a celebration that seems to last months while other holidays get one lousy day? Don’t we lose something from those other holidays in our rush to continuously celebrate more notable days?

Not to mention all those boring normal days that don’t have special names. Those are the days that comprise the majority of our lives, yet it seems that far too many people are in a rush to simply get past them in order to get to the next big “fun” day.

For many, that doesn’t even necessarily mean holidays, either. How many people are simply “working for the weekend,” to pull out a far-too-dated reference?

Sure, those pesky weekdays might have things such as class and work on them, but they still hold value. There’s something to be gained from each and every day.

This whole argument might sound like a song from a bad Disney flick, but I’d simply like to ask: What does a person gain by rushing his or her life along?

Of course, I might be wrong. Maybe they really were simply some Diwali lights. If that’s the case, I need to get moving. After all, there are only 53 shopping days until Christmas.

James Harrison is the State News opinion editor. Reach him at harri310@msu.edu.

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