Monday, December 15, 2003
I'd tell you what I think is this year's Christmas gift of all gifts but sometimes my daughter reads my blogs and I'd be giving away the surprise. You'll just have to wait until after Christmas to see what you should have bought. The nineteen-year-old son will be getting one and the seventeen-year-old daughter will be getting one (@ $399 a piece). And one for me too. Much better than sweaters destined to be the meal of a moth. But at that price we'll also be seeing a lot of tangerines and gummi bears in the stocking...
I consulted with my three adoptive brothers on this -- two of whom got back to me and said yes, product X is cool. The third is too busy these days in D.C. But I know his heart is there in that he reads the email chain and would answer if he had the time (although maybe he is mad at me because I called him a fuddy-duddy). Now when I say 'adoptive' I mean that one day I said, "heh you guys are pretty great and I am adopting you as my brothers." The rest is history i.e. they are everything this only child could have wished for: they give me sort-of-sage-advice on certain Christmas presents and give me the sibling-sass I envied the whole time I was a child. Yes I was jealous that I didn't have a brother calling me a knuckle-head moron. Go figure. We always want what we don't or can't have. It's all about attention after all...Suffice to say that I've invited myself to my adoptive brothers' wedding(s). I will always be there for them to the extent that I can -- either as inspirational sister or annoying thorn -- it matters not.
So one of my brothers started to take a philosophical approach by suggesting that I should think about the Xmas gift I was considering in terms of its potential to reinforce the materialistic tendencies of my children's generation; I should rather get them back to the 'true meaning of Christmas.' Well first of all that's kind of hard when you're an agnostic and for the most part believe in Santa. But whatever. In reality it's much too late for such considerations. Any kid born in or near 1984 is stung by unique generational baggage seldom seen by any other generation before. They were namely born into an economic bonanza the likes of which we have never seen in history. They were born onto a rode paved in gold. They were born into an era by which marketing and psychology have become a sophisticated power-pak of, "let's hook these kids by the age of two into WANTING Sesame Street, Ninja Turtles, Lego, PlayMobile, books, soccer cards. Addidas socks- no Nike socks, this-player-shirt- no, that-player-shirt, American Eagle-no, Abercrombie-no, Gap-no, J. Crew, Tiffany's, Stanford-no, U-Penn-no, Washington University, Ralph Lauren Polo-no, what next? They know no other reality.
I've done my part. My kids will never buy an S.U.V. (or risk being disowned). When in 40 years the oil wheezes to its inevitable non-energy-sustainable trickle, it will be my children's problem, not mine...
P.S. How pathetic is the democratic pool for presidential candidates? Particularly that their two soapbox platforms have evaporated -- namely Saddam and the economy...Whoops. Where oh where is a viable non-neo-conservative vision that we can grasp onto? It's pretty sad when the prevailing democratic bumper sticker reads: ANYBODY BUT BUSH IN 2004.... And if you haven't caught Josh Cagen, he kind of sums it up:
"The most entertaining/depressing offshoot of Saddam Hussein's capture, is, without a doubt, watching the reactions of the Democratic Presidential candidates.
They all sort of look like they were just given a painted rock for Christmas from their least favorite mentally challenged step-grandchild. "No, no...This is...Great. I...Couldn't be happier. It's just...What I wanted. (sigh) Attaboy, Slowy."
I consulted with my three adoptive brothers on this -- two of whom got back to me and said yes, product X is cool. The third is too busy these days in D.C. But I know his heart is there in that he reads the email chain and would answer if he had the time (although maybe he is mad at me because I called him a fuddy-duddy). Now when I say 'adoptive' I mean that one day I said, "heh you guys are pretty great and I am adopting you as my brothers." The rest is history i.e. they are everything this only child could have wished for: they give me sort-of-sage-advice on certain Christmas presents and give me the sibling-sass I envied the whole time I was a child. Yes I was jealous that I didn't have a brother calling me a knuckle-head moron. Go figure. We always want what we don't or can't have. It's all about attention after all...Suffice to say that I've invited myself to my adoptive brothers' wedding(s). I will always be there for them to the extent that I can -- either as inspirational sister or annoying thorn -- it matters not.
So one of my brothers started to take a philosophical approach by suggesting that I should think about the Xmas gift I was considering in terms of its potential to reinforce the materialistic tendencies of my children's generation; I should rather get them back to the 'true meaning of Christmas.' Well first of all that's kind of hard when you're an agnostic and for the most part believe in Santa. But whatever. In reality it's much too late for such considerations. Any kid born in or near 1984 is stung by unique generational baggage seldom seen by any other generation before. They were namely born into an economic bonanza the likes of which we have never seen in history. They were born onto a rode paved in gold. They were born into an era by which marketing and psychology have become a sophisticated power-pak of, "let's hook these kids by the age of two into WANTING Sesame Street, Ninja Turtles, Lego, PlayMobile, books, soccer cards. Addidas socks- no Nike socks, this-player-shirt- no, that-player-shirt, American Eagle-no, Abercrombie-no, Gap-no, J. Crew, Tiffany's, Stanford-no, U-Penn-no, Washington University, Ralph Lauren Polo-no, what next? They know no other reality.
I've done my part. My kids will never buy an S.U.V. (or risk being disowned). When in 40 years the oil wheezes to its inevitable non-energy-sustainable trickle, it will be my children's problem, not mine...
P.S. How pathetic is the democratic pool for presidential candidates? Particularly that their two soapbox platforms have evaporated -- namely Saddam and the economy...Whoops. Where oh where is a viable non-neo-conservative vision that we can grasp onto? It's pretty sad when the prevailing democratic bumper sticker reads: ANYBODY BUT BUSH IN 2004.... And if you haven't caught Josh Cagen, he kind of sums it up:
"The most entertaining/depressing offshoot of Saddam Hussein's capture, is, without a doubt, watching the reactions of the Democratic Presidential candidates.
They all sort of look like they were just given a painted rock for Christmas from their least favorite mentally challenged step-grandchild. "No, no...This is...Great. I...Couldn't be happier. It's just...What I wanted. (sigh) Attaboy, Slowy."
Comments:
Post a Comment
