The Spirit of the Holidays

So I sent out my annual xmas card and among the responses one person humorously (I hope) replied that every year it was the same message. Yes it probably sounded the same. Duh. Guilty as charged. What can I say, I like the attention... or maybe it's just that every year we celebrate the same things. Sorry to all those I offended. Come on. I know my message was not tailored to every individual person I wanted to wish a happy end of year to, but spending two full days writing emails is not my idea of preparing for xmas.
On that note this year I have the hardest time getting into the spirit. After a year that felt like xmas every day and not working for the last three months, I guess I'm getting a little anxious to get back to creating and getting busy. Plus like every year xmas has been announced since Labour day in stores, on tv and all over. They blast their holiday tunes for months and by the time we get halfway to d-day you're ready to carry around a baseball bat and smash every stereo in every store.
The slogan for these holidays should be: "No matter we're in a recession, come spend whatever you have left."
I may sound cynical, but the bottom line is that even if I know and read of people suffering from financial hardship, it's hard to notice when you're walking through a mall and feel like you're in a meat packing factory the day before meat supplies are to disappear forever. Or is it that people are so disillusioned that they have to buy gifts to feel like they're not broke. Is it naivete or the "great American spirit" (whatever that means). Is it the prospect of a new president giving us confidence in the economical future of this country or simply a pride issue (not wanting others to see that you're struggling).
The media talk about how this is the worst crisis since the great depression. It's bad for sure, but we're light years from anything comparable to the early 30s. So lets not dramatize. Once again, politics of fear prevail. People in Washington wanted all these bailout plans to pass and they succeeded. No matter that no one knows today where are the 700 billion dollars (our tax money) that were unconditionally promised to banks. What's important is that we Americans united during these harsh times to help our economy get back on its feet. Right? We the people... Although I don't remember voting on that... but whatever. I have to trust that the one clown who claims to represent me and millions others knew that it would've been our vote. Trust in this day and age? Are you kidding? Well again I think we need a lot of re-structuring in this capitalist "democracy". The constitution is an old piece of paper written in a different time. Yet we hail it as the one "rule of law" by which we make decisions. Updates please! I get them on my computer every other day. We get them in dictionaries and encyclopedias every year. Everything evolves, science, medicine, economy, etc. School books are updated every other year. Yet the two "literary pillars" through which our country is run, the bible and the constitution are the same unchanged ruling textbooks. How many times can you interpret the same words?! Apparently many millions of times. Which to a normal human being should say: "hey, we can't agree on what this means. There's a problem there. Lets change it." Seriously. What the hell is going on?! Wake up damn it. No matter that everything else around has changed for hundreds and thousands of years, these two manuals apparently are timeless. Wow, then what am I waiting for? I really should get on the bandwagon and follow the undying rules of man and society. Silly me for doubting and questioning the unquestionable. On this Christmas day I should repent from all my sinful thoughts towards our one perfect nation... under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all... Yeah that sounds like it. For sure.

To get back to my initial thought, let me sound redundant in wishing everyone a merry xmas and a happy new year filled with great things.