Black Friday: Materialism in America

Selwyn Duke / The New American:
It's ironic that Black Friday, which has a negative etymology and connotation, should have become one of the more anticipated days of the year. And it's sad that the holiday meant to be devoted to thanking God for what we have should be followed by - and increasingly subordinated to - a day devoted to seeking what we do not. The day after Thanksgiving seems to have been dubbed "Black Friday" in 1965 by the Philadelphia police, who lamented the traffic jams and congested sidewalks the day brought. Earlier still, the term referred to an 1869 financial crisis. Now it has come to represent a materialism crisis.

Posted by Editor at November 30, 2009 03:01 PM