Thanksgiving, Greed, and "Black Friday"

Many Americans will not be sitting down to give thanks this morning. Large numbers of Americans will simply be going to another day of work. In the past, this meant Police, Soldiers in the field, People who, like myself in the past,had worked in hospitals, and those who of necessity had to work 24/7. Today, its happening because the so many retailers have decided that they just can't close for a day.

Others, of course, will have extra reasons for giving thanks. The retailers will be giving thanks to greed , the only dark God they know. The customers who simply cannot resists shopping on that day will give thanks they one more day to spend, and go into debt. Some of the workers, whose real income declines every year,

will give thanks for the small bump in their paychecks, assuming the Boss didn't find a way to create a schedule that avoids paying overtime.

This of course will Morph into "Black Friday." Millions of people will surge to the Malls, and the big box stores to stand in line and trample each other in search of "deals." Like the mother who will be just glad to see the Thanksgiving cooking over with, workers in retail stores will just be thankful the Holiday insanity is over.

Not surprisingly, Suzzane Kapner, in a WSJ article, "The Dirty Secret of Black Friday Discounts",{1}

notes that the "Black Friday" sale is often an illusion. Not surprisingly, the discounts are from artificially high 

manufacturers suggested prices, so the products discount is figured from a fake original price. The truly fascinating thing is the customers don't seem to mind, and company's like J. C. Penny suffer for not fueling the public's desire to feel like they got a good deal, even if its a mirage..

Christians of course understand this. Mans depraved nature, inherited since the fall, Traps him in this 

prison of greed and envy. The desire of retailers to squeeze every penny out of their customers, and the consumers desire to feel like he squeezed a good deal out of them. This greed is of course destructive, It has led to "outsourcing" of jobs abroad, and the destruction of the income of the working class by unrestricted immigration. Only those who know Christ, and who draw their beliefs from Gods Word, can have a basis to reject this and get off the hamster-wheel of greed and envy.