If I landed my spaceship here on Earth in America this year on Thanksgiving Day from a far-away planet, I would certainly assume that the Thanksgiving holiday was a day off from work for most people.

But for many in this society, it also meant “Doorbuster Speed Shopping”, even camping out in the cold in front of stores until they opened before dawn, then rushing in to pick out all kinds of stuff, and finally pushing and shoving their way to find a cash register and an employee, who had to work, so the shoppers here could take advantage of this wonderful privilege.

In my preparation for this long journey to Earth, I studied about the history and the real meaning of this holiday they call Thanksgiving, and the important family and human values that this society, I thought, wanted to pass on to their next generation. However, it was obvious our sophisticated surveillance systems were way out-of-date.

Although this “alien landing” is just a figment of my imagination, it is very clear that taking this day off from work to be with family and friends both near and far away, and sincerely thinking and actually talking with each other (not texting) about being truly thankful for the cherished blessings in most all of our lives, has been totally lost by far too many people.

I certainly do want all the retailers to be financially successful, but I would venture to say that they will not make more money because of Thanksgiving Day shopping, and people will not buy more in the end anyway.
The enduring legacy of important basic values we want to pass on is being erased by the “Doorbusters.”

It has already been reported that Black Friday sales were down. So what we buy on Thanksgiving Day, even the famous “Doorbusters” publicized every single minute of the day in all the media will just be spread out a little more.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It gives us all a chance to stop what we do on other days to truly reflect on our lives, reconnect with those members of our families and friends who we generally do not see that often, and reach out to others who have lost their way in life.

For me, it was a very relaxing and feel-good day. And all that had to be done was preparing more food than any of us could ever consume. And it was a reminder of all that is truly important in our lives.

Frankly, the commercialization of all the major holidays has gotten so out of hand, that the enduring legacy of important basic values we want to pass on is being erased by the “Doorbusters.”

If anything, our world today is much more dangerous, stressful and self-absorbed. Our legacy, and a much more important gift to give to ourselves and our children, should be remembering the true significance of these holidays.