The Changeling's Cottage

Is it just me or are some of these Christmas commercials truly horrid?  Parents stealing their kid's cars for joy rides and little girls telling their family they need to stick to her Christmas list because she doesn't like the lame presents they pick out for her. Even though I know it's supposed to be humorous, the underlying message is insulting because it implies that greed and ingratitude are an acceptable part of our culture.  Yes, it's possible that I'm taking things too seriously or perhaps the problem is that most people don't take things seriously enough.  What concerns me is not so much the commercial itself but what it indicates.  People in mass marketing believe that the general public is morally lax enough that they can appeal to our worst instincts, pass it off as a joke and we'll buy their products.  Unfortunately, that's largely true.

When I was growing up, I never made one Christmas list.  My parents were adamantly against them and I just wrote it off as another of their unexplainable quirks, but now that I'm older and as a mother myself, I see the way that writing a Christmas lists puts all the emphasis on getting.  My parents believed that knowing each other well enough to pick out presents for one other was part of the gift itself and I have to agree, it's a lovely way to exchange gifts.  I was never disappointed on Christmas because I didn't get everything on my list.  I was surprised and grateful and watching other people unwrap what I got them was almost as exciting.

 I would like my daughter to understand the ideals of generosity, compassion, charity and "good will towards man" and I find it a shame that the commercial world, which plays such a large role in the majority of our lives, doesn't promote those values as well.