If Every Day Were Black Friday

Each year, right after Thanksgiving, human nature runs amok. We call it “Black Friday,” and it’s definitely one of the most poignant examples of the havoc human nature can inflict if we let it loose.

And just to emphasize that Black Friday isn’t about saving money, but about the social phenomenon of boasting, “I got this at Macy’s/Best Buy/You Name It, on Black Friday,” think of the fact that some of us shoppers don’t even bother to actually do the all-nighters, we hire people to stand in line for us. So at the end of the day, how much did we really save?

If you want to get a great deal you can always buy online, as many people already do. So why do we stand in line? Because it’s what you do the night after Thanksgiving? I think there are better things we can do with our time. If we’re willing to spend that much time and effort to save a few hundred dollars (at best), think how much we could save by collaborating? If we felt committed to each other, and not just to ourselves, think of the kind of societies we could build together.

Let’s not kid ourselves; retailers aren’t losing money on Black Friday, they’re making heaps of it. So why don’t they sell at these prices all year long? Because we customers are not united.

But I’m not trying to suggest that unity for the sake of cutting prices will get us anywhere. It won’t. If anything, it’ll make things worse because there’ll always be people who’ll take advantage of the situation at the public’s expense.

I suggest unity for the sake of unity! We may not realize it but when we unite we create such human warmth that provides more confidence and joy than anything else ever will. We create a force field that accompanies us wherever we go. You know how there are people who come from loving families and you can tell that they did as soon as you look at them? Well, a united society can provide a million times more confidence than that, and to everyone, not just to a lucky few.

Let’s think about what we really want to give our loved ones next time we get them something for Hanukah, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve. Let’s give each other the gift of unity, and then each day will be a bargain day for us, Black Friday every day.

Please see a clip about this here.