Problems? What problems?

We find ourselves in an odd predicament thanks to Santa Claus. Lets be honest, Santa was hijacked years ago by aggressive marketers to guilt right thinking people into buying anything while disguising it as “the holiday spirit.” Department stores basically survive on sales made after Thanksgiving and before December 24^th. In other words, Santa is on life support during a recession, and dare I say, “Last rites,” if we hit a depression.

Has Santa Claus turned into Sinister Claus? We’re slammed with commercials telling us to buy that perfect gift, which by the way is on sale. We’re told how special the holidays are, so, “show your wife you love her with a diamond bracelet.” I’ve seen, as you have, the ad with a new car wrapped in a bow waiting for the trophy wife to see on Christmas morning. What planet are these people from? Or better yet, what have we become?

Maybe St. Nick needs to take one for the team. Perhaps this economy is a way to right the ship and place priorities where they count. Gifts we buy are temporary at best, but gifts we have last throughout our existence. There is no price tag on health, family, and freedom. However, we cruise through life taking each one for granted, while getting bent out of shape if our computers run slow. Admittedly, I’m the worst at this, so I’m not preaching to you as much as I’m preaching to me.

There’s no doubt Christmas will be tough this year, and maybe it should be. What better way to ground our thinking than a good old fashion depression? It just might make us appreciate one gift, instead of, I don’t know, 4, 5, 8, or whatever numbers we’re accustom too. Maybe we’d learn to love a gift that’s a pair of underwear, or work jeans, being we can’t afford them ourselves.

We’ve had it too easy for too long. Most of us have been blessed with prosperity and haven’t a clue what, “hard times” mean, including me. My prediction is we’re all gonna find out. That’s the bad news, but don’t panic, we can survive.

If we play out the worst case scenario, how bad can it get? Cable T.V. and this wonderful Internet would definitely be a casualty. Families may have to move in together, like the old days, just to make ends meet. A car might be repossessed and credit ruined. Maybe a bread line or soup kitchen is in our future, who knows? Maybe if we had to live like that we could get back to our roots as human beings. Meaningful conversations with each other would occupy our time. We might get to know our next door neighbor. And by golly we might even learn to read and write again.

The old saying, “its only money” would actually mean something.

Walk through a children’s cancer center. Visit a burn unit. Go to an orphanage. Odds are you’ll feel pretty lucky (blessed) walking in your shoes.

Know this, as long as we’re Americans, we’ll always have Christmas. It just might come from a different angle. Or perhaps not, because we’ll have to give ourselves to each other and isn’t that what Christmas is all about?