Tired of the commercialization of Christmas? Here’s your answer!
Reverend Billy, pastor of the Church of Stop Shopping, is the Stephen Colbert of American hyper-commercialism. For more than a decade, the Reverend has been bringing Americans the Good News that there is life after Wal-Mart.
Fed up with all the Christmas advertising? Reverend Billy has an answer:
Advertisements are THREATS. The ads are telling us that if we don’t surround ourselves with their stuff, we are loners, we’re oddities, freaks, unhappy, and, in fact, dangerous, to be avoided. Different, outside, not part of the party. This is violence masquerading as market democracy.
And while I’ve participated in countless SantaCons, spreading the true meaning of Christmas during the holiday season, the Reverend takes it one step beyond:
Children, we are all of us shopping sinners. Each of us is walking around in a swirl of gas & oil, plastics & foil. We are not evil people, but somehow we allowed the Lords of Consumption to organize us into mobs that buy & dispose, suck fructose & pull triggers.
Yes, the Rapture of the Final Consumption, the Shopture, is underway. The fundamentalist consumers are lifted up into the air, to the Supermall of Eternal Convenience, where there are thousands of big boxes & chain stores above the clouds.
You can visit Reverend Billy’s website, “The Church of Stop Shopping“.
9 Comments
Just feelin’ so bad, after being told that the American consumer didn’t spend enough on Christmas. Oh, so sorry that I didn’t go crazy gifting. j.
I was just feelin’ so bad, after reading that American consumers didn’t shop enough to keep up with 2011’s Christmas shopping frenzy. Oh, I’m so sorry that I didn’t contribute enough to the American economy. Hooray for Rev. Billy! j.
Thank you for this IK!
I’ve been saying it for years… the “Marketing Dept” is the devil’s workshop!
But if we stop shopping, who would Fox News blather about having their employees saying “Happy holidays” as part of the War on Christmas?
My family has decided to spend Christmas $ on good food, good distilled spirits, and no other gifts. Its been and continues to be delicious. It helps that there aren’t any small children at this point. The dogs don’t seem to mind the upgrade in leftovers.
Except what would that do to our economy? Just like the outrageous spending on the campaign, Chrismas spending increases employment and circutlates our money to the low earning workers.
Eva, I think that is a myth, similar to “trickle down economics”. Spending money productively (on education, infrastructure, and health) helps the economy. But spending it on unproductive things, whether those are luxury yachts, car elevators, or are useless gifts that nobody actually needs (or even wants), creates churn and economic bubbles. The latter kind of spending doesn’t create further growth, and is highly discretionary so it can easily bust an economic bubble when it stops.
I highly recommend that “gifting” be confined to giving where the need is greatest. Perhaps a local food bank, or Heifer, International, or???
I’m thinking of the people who earn their tiny bit at Wal-Mart during the holiday season which also postpones “SAD” because they are working and can get them “earned income credit” if they have children.