I ran into an interesting quote the other day.
"Organized religion is the Wal-martization of spirituality."
While I tend to agree with the general gist of this statement, that isn't what I wanted to focus on here. What seems even more interesting to me is the fact that the made up term "Wal-martization" is not only immediately recognizable, but also highly relevant in today's society. Let's look at the difference in how we treat our winter holiday today, compared to the hunter-gatherer cultures of northern Europe circa several thousand years ago.
Then: surviving the winter was uncertain
Now: will my team survive the playoffs?
Then: pray to the Gods you have enough food to last the winter
Now: pray to Jesus that your parents get you a Nintendo Wii
Then: hunting was poor, you have offended the Gods
Now: no Nativity scene on government property! You've offended the Right. Cashier says Merry Christmas! You've offended the Left.
The effects of Wal-martization are evident. It isn't just a focus on material things, although that is part of it. It's the fact that the Winter season is no longer a threat to our basic survival here in the industrialized West. In the absence of having to worry about important issues like not freezing to death, we are free to turn our attention to smaller matters, like who should God send to the Super Bowl.
Case in point, most of us put up a Christmas tree every year. This is a fine tradition that most likely started as a way to make offerings to the Gods by hanging shiny treasures on living evergreens. However, these days the ornaments and fake trees go on sale in September and putting up cheerful decorations can turn into a neighborhood pissing contest. Holiday feasts, so important to our ancestors, are just an excuse for us to fall off our diets or a reason to bitch and moan about having to eat things we don't like because Aunt Gertrude cooked up her infamous lima bean casserole just for us and we wouldn't want to insult the rich old bat, right?
The Wal-martization of our culture cheapens not only our spirituality, but our empathy for others, our ability to appreciate what we have, our bonds with family and friends (our clans, if you will) and our reverence for Nature and our place in it.
Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate being safe and warm and well-fed through the cold Winter months. And I wouldn't object too strongly if some kind soul decided to get me a Wii (Jesus, are you listening?). I'm just wondering if perhaps the price for those things is to forget the hardships and struggles our ancestors had to go through to get us to this point. If we do that, then even the smallest issue will seem like an insurmountable hurdle to future generations and pettiness, bickering and callousness will rule us all. Or maybe they already do.
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3 comments:
You missed a nice event this weekend.
Yeah, the season of hardship is significantly less hard than it used to be....good thing that. I myself lived in a time when I worked all summer to provide heat in the winter. (ok, that was only 1980, but still, I thought I was living in an oppressive medieval society.)
Yes, we are greedy and materialistic, just like everyone else. But you and I and many of our friends and family know what is important in life...hitting people with sticks. oh wait, no, it was something about love or something. I will remember later.
Oh, and dude. I Don't think the ACLU can be called right wing unless you are a bit left of Berkley (Which involves a swim in the ocean I think.)
I miss the gi-normous holiday trees and nativity scenes of the old days. It was cool, but eh, people are thin skinned this decade. I suppose a lack of real problems makes you focus on idiotic ones.
No, the ACLU aren't particularly Right Wing. They tend to cherry pick which civil liberties they defend the same way the Right cherry picks which ones they want to take away and from whom. Personally, I think both sides are a bunch of totalitarian, 1984 wannabes. Just in different ways.
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