Despite every plea made by religious leaders such as Pope Benedict XVI, this holiday has nothing to do with religion. The fact is Christmas fuel consumerism because the principle message being told during the holiday season is to buy, spend, and consume.

The commercialism of Christmas is not a recent phenomenon. In 1850, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a lament that reflected a common sentiment: “There are worlds of money wasted, at this time of year, in getting things nobody wants, and nobody cares for after they are got.”

We’ve brainwashed ourselves to “give” into a mechanical generic holiday system instead of giving our hearts and souls to a worthy cause that the real Christmas represents.

This holiday season is a time when we should ponder the message of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Most of us who grew up with it as children as being a story about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who cares about nothing but money and is visited in his house on Christmas Eve by three ghosts – the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future. They make Scrooge see the error of his ways.

It is not surprising that everyone takes joy in Scrooge’s redemption, because it allows us to find the kernel of compassion, of humanity within us. However, many of us miss the true message Dickens was trying to convey. Understanding the conditions under which working-class people lived became based on his experiences, the scene with Christmas Present with the two orphans, Ignorance and Want is the central focus of the story. From Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol:”

‘They are Man’s,’ said the Spirit, looking down upon them. ‘And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it.’ cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. ‘Slander those who tell it ye. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end.’

‘Have they no refuge or resource.’ cried Scrooge.

‘Are there no prisons.’ said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. ‘Are there no workhouses.’

Championing the causes of the poor and oppressed, Dickens personified ignorance and want as twins because Ignorance and Want are the twin evils of humanity. How we act and behave towards one another in society plays a vital role in lives of the poor and the oppressed. Yes, all of us! The orphan twins symbolized the plight of the poor and the causes of their poverty as well as humanity’s obligation to them. In addition, of the two, Ignorance is the greater evil.

When you look at the bigger picture, it is fear and need and want and anxiety that drives this country. Moreover, it is these fears that have caused our culture of cruelty that currently exists. Today, in his Year-End Press Conference, President Bush continues to push the illusion that Americans are at risk.

BUSH: As you all know, I’ve said this many times from the podium, I do believe in the universality of freedom. I believe if people are given a chance to be free, they will do so. I understand some don’t believe that. It’s kind of like, “We’re the only ones who can be free.” It’s kind of the ultimate isolationism, isn’t it. And the question then is: Is it in our nation’s interest to help others realize the blessings of liberty? And clearly the Bush foreign policy says it is, because I believe it’s going to yield peace. And it’s particularly important given the fact that we’re in an ideological struggle against people who use murder to achieve political objectives. And we faced these kind of people before in our past. And the question is: Does it make sense to confront them? And if we forget the lessons of September the 11th as a nation we will be naive or blind to the realities of the world. And the best way to confront these folks in the long term is to defeat their ideology with one based upon hope, and that’s one based upon liberty, and that’s what you’re watching unfold. It’s necessary work, and it’s hard work. And it requires determination and effort and commitment. And so, part of our efforts is to convince others: one, the nature of the world in which we live; two, that we’re in an ideological struggle; and, three, we will prevail because we’ve got the ultimate weapon against those who can’t see anything but terror and murder as the way forward, and that is freedom.

This is not a coincidence. Today Christmas is such a vital part of our economic system that Wall Street monitors the season as an indicator of the nation’s economic viability. Currently, the national mood is absorbed in the illusion that Americans are at risk and that they are in danger from terrorists abroad. While it is true that America has plenty of enemies, people in this country believe in the illusion created by this country that their hatred is toward us and not towards those who continue banging the drum of fear to achieve their political objectives. Rather than making sacrifices during a time when our economy is fragile, people today are being told that the best way to help economy is to go about their business and spend money as if nothing was wrong.

What better time to get out that message than the Christmas holidays. Why? Because not only is Christmas celebrated by gift giving; but we are also compelled to do so, not necessarily out of the kindness of our hearts.

This year, the average individual US consumer is expected to spend $817 on holiday-related shopping, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions Survey. Last year, consumer spending on holiday gift spending totaled $450 billion and in the previous year, consumers spent a total of $438.6 billion. Although it is being reported that sales are down this year, yet, the forecast for this year, sales are still expected to see a 1.5 percent increase from a year ago.

As Christmas has become entwined with shopping, American consumers are encouraged to spend, while at the same time, they are being told to save money. In the end, consumer debt continues to grow. Recent statistics show 3 in 5 Americans (59%) incurred credit card debt when shopping for Christmas presents. According to the NRF 2007 survey, 40.1 percent of shoppers, up from 39.1 percent last year, will rely on debit and check cards to make purchases.

In our contemporary framework, the term “giving” equals buying rather than giving meaning providing. And this is the crux of the problem. Pure market capitalism does not respect traditions or religion. The market doesn’t care if you are rich or poor. All that matters is how to make the best profit possible from selling to the public. It is a system that believes that humankind exists only for the money that can be made through exploitation and intimidation.

It is Ignorance that turns a blind eye on a world full of “Little Matchstick Girl,” with an attitude that we aren’t their keepers. It is Ignorance that continues to play self-deluding word games for the sake of an ideal self-image. In truth, if we dare to look it, as Nietzsche said, the abyss stares back.” When this happens it is easier to avert our eyes and bury our heads in the sand and turn a blind eye to our moral cowardice, because it is their poverty makes us feel uncomfortable, their illnesses that disgust us, and the apparent hopelessness of their lives that scares us.

At a time when everyone invokes and acclaims progress, solidarity and peace for all, people continue to die of hunger and thirst, disease and poverty. It is Ignorance that has ignored those who continue to be enslaved, exploited and stripped of their dignity. It creates an environment where victims of racial and religious hatred are hampered by intolerance, by discrimination, and by political interference. It creates an environment that rationalizes the numerous assaults and rape to women like Jamie Leigh Jones and Kathryn Bolkovac by companies like Halliburton, KBR, and DynCorp International through physical and moral coercion. And it is Ignorance that has turned a blind eye to the numerous threats and harassments to thousands of immigrants by the Border Patrol, ICE, and the US.

You could say that the adverse nature within us that causes us to be contrary to what is righteous. However, it is our greed, our selfishness, our self-importance, our materialism and our aversions to Godliness that has taken us down a darker path – a path is sociopathic. We are living in a pluralistic society that has created a climate that protects all variations of irresponsibility and irrationality. It is draining the economy, bankrupting the country, and making a psychotic mess of our political process. The twin evils of humanity have consumed us like a cancer. Make no mistake; this country seeks to control the world for its own political and economic interests and we are its collateral damage as many misguided flag-waving zealots rally to a jingoistic cause. And as we open our gifts this Christmas and singing songs of “peace on earth,” just remember, thousands of innocent children will either spend their Christmas in some private detention facilities located this country and millions of families will continue to be blown up by our bombs because they shall forever roam in the dark alleys of our indifference.

We have become deaf and blind to the truth: we help create this economic, political, and legal systems that is stepping on the backs of the poor and the oppressed.

Young people in particular are the ones who most often feel the need to meet the societal expectations and may therefore unconsciously engage in social comparisons. When it comes to teens the opinions of friends are especially valuable, which in that phase in a young person’s life is the determinant of one’s self-esteem. In cyberspace, people can transcend their embodied identity and explore being black, white, feminine, or masculine – a way we can walk in another’s persons shoe. But what happens when a person goes to far. This was the case of Megan Meier – the 13 year-old girl who hung herself last year after being bullied on MySpace (h/t to Gordo at appletree).

Megan Meier had suffered from low self-esteem and was on medication at the time of her death. One day on MySpace, Megan received a message from MySpace notifying her that a boy name Josh Evans, contacted her and wanted to be added as a friend. So after the two formed a quick connection during their more than month-long relationship. According to reports, Evans claimed on his profile to be a 16-year-old boy who lived nearby and was home schooled. But what began as a promising online friendship soon turned sour, as compliments turned to insults, and calling her a “slut” and a “bad person.”

On Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006, Megan received a puzzling and disturbing message from Josh, saying: “I don’t know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I’ve heard that you are not very nice to your friends.” Soon after a cyber exchange took place, but the flurry of exchanged was too much for Megan. At one point, Josh told Megan that everyone in town knew she was a bitch and a slut and that “the world would be a better place without her.” This not only devastated her, but it left her confused as to why her friendship unraveled. The stress and frustration was too much for Megan, who had a history of depression.

On the next day, Tina Meier, Megan’s mom, found Megan’s lifeless body in a bedroom closet – taking Josh’s cure message to her to heart, she had decided to take her own life. To make matters worse, Tina and Ron Meier, who are now separated and plan to divorce, had learned there never was a Josh Evans, his profile was a fake created by Lori Drew – the mother of the girl Megan had once been friends with.

Here is a family who just lost their daughter because their daughter was being bullied by Drew, who lived four doors away, on MySpace. Drew admitted to police that she created the phony MySpace profile in a bid to smoke out negative comments about her child by Megan. Apparently this crime was enough for the girl to take her own life. This is one reason why this is a most pressing issue.

Cyber bullying is not new. We see all the time how these things escalate. But what about the poor kid who gets harassed to the point where the victim feels as if they’re at the end of their rope. Some parents are breeding hate crimes and or not involved enough in their child’s life to even know what kind of person they really are.

Gordo points out that in one of the police reports on The Smoking Gun showed how Drew had little empathy had towards Megan.

Drew state she knew “arguments” had broken out between Megan and others on “my space.” Drew felt this incident contributed to Megan’s suicide, but she did not feel “as guilty” because at the funeral she found out “Megan had tried to commit suicide before.”

Violence is (and always has been) a part of the human condition. When it comes to violence, it has adverse effects on individuals, families, and society in general. From war to child abuse, murder to school-yard bullying, violence takes its toll, often with children being the innocent victims and in this case the not-so-innocent perpetrator. The police reports also indicate that Drew’s daughter was also involved with her mother in harassing Megan.

It is apparent that there will be criminal charges filed in connection with Megan’s death. Megan and her family are not the only victim, the other is Drew’s daughter, she just learned that it is OK to bully and harass another person who is emotionally or physically weaker because there will be no consequences for their actions.

When looking for the influences on a child’s behavior, one does not have to look far, it starts at home. It is already known that children who are exposed to yelling, name-calling, harsh criticism, or physical anger in the home, the chances that the child will display the same behavior in other settings is very high. Parents are very powerful role models and children will mimic the behavior of parents, wanting to be like them. They may believe violence is OK and they can use it with peers. When parents engage in violence, children may assume violence is the right way to do things.

This kind of senseless violence must end. Bullying must be taken seriously for the crime that it is and Lori Drew must be brought to justice.