[Skoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by snake5289

The assholes of the world win yet again and ruin everything for the rest of us. Thanks so much you dirtbags.

Don't shoot the messenger.

The gist of the posts above is that "The thrill is gone." I feel the same way. I think we're sensing a shift in culture.

1) Peak Commercialization

We all enjoy holidays, but their original purpose is obscured by commercialization. Hallowe'en comes along, and we're trained like obedient sheepdogs to go charging to the mall and spend a bunch of money (or credit card debt) on crummy, overpriced candy and crummy, overpriced decorations and crummy, overpriced costumes, as though spending money is a necessary prerequisite to having fun. Practically everything that our grandparents did for themselves to have fun became commercialized by the wealthy post-WW2 boomer generation. You see the same mentality in modern boomer-dominated central banking: "All will be well, if we only print more money!" (The money doesn't go where it should; I digress.)

2) Debt

Consumer debt is the highest today that it has ever been in history. People can no longer afford to spend like they used to. Case in point: I went out this evening for Canadian Thanksgiving, and passed several popular restaurants that had only half a dozen cars parked out front. The place I went to is a good family restaurant, but it was nearly deserted, on a national holiday, at supper hour. There was a time when the restaurants in my town were jumping: it wasn't uncommon to have to wait for a table. Those days seem to be gone. I think the same thing is happening with holiday spending in general. Hallowe'en displays started to go up locally in mid-August. Christmas stuff went up at the end of September. It's surreal to walk through the deserted aisles with Christmas music playing on the intercom and nobody shopping. Compare that to the 70s, when I was small: Christmas displays went up December 1, and the stores were absolutely crazy busy. I think retailers are hurting because the old enthusiasm for spending money is dampened by a cloud of debt. Also, the stuff on the shelves isn't as good. Quality suffered as a consequence of corporate offshoring / outsourcing. Aisles are crammed with millions of dollars worth of discounted junk. Parents on shoestring budgets have other priorities, like school supplies and cell phone contracts.

3) Better Nutrition

Who still makes their own holiday goodies? My parents used to make gingerbread men with little icing smiles on them and hand them out in little bags, but who does that now? Who still makes their own Christmas baking? Nowadays you go to the local big-box store and see pallets filled with junk candy with garbage ingredients priced at $20 or more per bag, more for boxes. Seniors buy bags of the stuff only to have a few children show up at the door, and then what do they do with the leftovers? And knowing what we know now about the statistics for diabetes, obesity, dangerous ingredients, who wants to put that stuff in their bodies? Binging has given way to portion control. Furthermore, good chocolate is quite expensive, but who can and wants to spend a lot of money for good quality candy, only to hand it out to anonymous neighborhood children? Better to wait until AFTER the holiday and pick up some good premium chocolate for yourself at a discount!

4) Social Programming

Our children are told that everybody on the street is a potential bogeyman. You don't let your child walk to school anymore, because the hills are crawling with pedophiles. Hallowe'en candy might have razor blades or pieces of glass. On a dark night, your child might run into traffic. Anything might go wrong. Then there are real threats, especially in depressed areas. By experience and/or by social programming, the perception of safe streets is lost. I used to have 120-150 kids come to my door; last year it was a nice, mild evening, and we had a grand total of 6. More parents are taking their children to organized events, rather than turning them loose like in the old days. Even more are doing nothing. Holidays are a chance to sleep in and maybe catch up on household chores.

I know; I'm roaming all over the place. But we all seem to be touching on many of the same points. Rgds