While the holidays are supposed to be a time to gather together with family members and reflect not only on the accomplishments of the past year but on the possibilities of the future, to many it is a crushing reminder of just how much this brutal system we live under can make our lives miserable. As capitalism, which depends on constant growth to survive, depends increasingly more on the winter holiday season meet its yearly profit goals, so too does the pressure increase on the working class to spend their hard earned discretionary income or go deeper into debt to satisfy the incessant consumerist orgy sponsored by the owning class.
To the lucky ones, the holidays are the time where the perfect, affordable gift is found for everyone on the list, but far more likely, many workers find themselves purchasing items which have limited usefulness and may not even be what that person wanted, just to satisfy the overwhelming demands of the season. We have even instilled in our children the unrealistic expectations of instant gratification with whatever gadgets or toys marketers have dreamed up to separate us from our hard earned dollars. As a former worker in the health care industry, I observed the mounting uncertainty of workers leading up to the confusing and sometimes secretive health care plan changes every January 1st. ‘Tis the season to be jolly indeed, but only if you make a profit!
In addition comes the deluge of in-your-face religious ritual and pathetic pleas for some god to come and make things right. Our leaders simultaneously exhort us to remember the real meaning of Christmas (whatever that means) while expecting us to shop till we drop. They hypocritically pay lip service to world peace and brotherhood while actively or passively propagating the continuing exploitation and repression of the world’s working class. We also see people’s attitudes change disturbingly in the scurry to get everything done by December 25, making traffic in commercial districts a nightmare and turning worker against fellow worker, as consumerist demands pit those of us spending on holiday goods and services against those of us providing them.
And of course, once all the gifts have been unwrapped and the feasts of plenty consumed, the western world wakes up to the mountain of waste generated by the holidays: paper, plastic, food, and even items we spend time returning or exchanging. As socialists, we look forward to a time when all humanity can truly celebrate peace, unity, and plenty without the hypocrisy, ritual, and waste. Let us work to create a day in which togetherness and brotherhood come unencumbered by the need to exchange material goods and beg supernatural beings to solve our problems.
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