Gonzalez 1

Student Name

Prof. Juel

ENGL-184

14 October 2020
Today’s Christmas

Intro with an appeal: In the 80-year scope of my great-grandmother Christmas hasn’t

always been this way, materialistic and commercialized. She was a child of the Great

Depression, and the Christmases of her youth were always just family gatherings. Her gifts were

humble, just fruit most years because that was all her parents could afford. “Looking back” she

said, “we didn’t have money, or a lot of material things, but we were happy.” She speaks of these

Christmases fondly, and as a simpler time; she always appreciated what she had (Grandma).

Clearly state the topic—the problem: While not every American has a spending problem

or suffers from ingratitude, there are many who do, including myself. Materialism, “The

tendency to consider material possessions […] as more important than spiritual values,” is a

societal issue (Materialism). The expectations for gifts, the shopping holidays, and the spending

have commandeered most every aspect of Christmas. Many Americans at one time or another

have incurred credit card debt or drained saving, or worse, lost the meaningfulness of one of the

most benevolent holidays ever to exist.

How long has the problem gone on/how widespread is it: To describe the progression of

how Christmas has changed, I will begin again with my great-grandmother. Being brought up on

a farm and the store so far away, she and her siblings didn’t grow up expecting gifts as most do

now (Grandma). However, by the time she had children of her own in the 50s and 60s America

enjoyed great prosperity and many, like her, flocked to the suburbs. This post war America gave
 Gonzalez 2

rise to malls, and department stores began to be built conveniently around the population

(Gianoulis). Electronic technologies advanced as well, giving way to in-home televisions with

advertisements for children’s toys and Christmas gifts (Reedy). Consequently, there were greater

expectations for gifts among the Baby Boomers than there were among the children of the Great

Depression.

Normally the history of the problem need only be a paragraph, maybe even just a couple

of sentences. For this student, the progression is important to her point that the problem of

materialism has gotten worse. In essence, she’s providing examples and evidence of the problem

and that it’s escalating. Moving on to the 70s and 80s, my grandparents are now grown and have

children. Big box stores are even more convenient and less expensive than the malls. Their

popularity has caused a considerable number of them to pop up all over the nation (Gianoulis).

The credit card, a modern technology now allows for the purchasing of goods on a small plastic

card. The card allows a transaction without payment upfront, but the cost is later payed back to

the credit card company in a series of installments (Feinberg 2). This means the country can now

pay for cheaper items without having the money to pay for them. What more, in the year of 1985

Black Friday becomes an annual holiday. It boasts sales and is celebrated solely for retail

companies and consumers (Pruitt).

Cause of the problem: As if the past 50 years wasn’t enough to send us into a tradition of

spending, my generation has come up with even more captivating toys, bombarded its children

with every manner of advertisements, and created Cyber Monday, a new spending holiday for its

latest shopping fad. In the words of little Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch, “Where are you

Christmas?” (Momsen). In society today, we spend so much time, money, and energy on the
 Gonzalez 3

material things. Surely, I am not the only one disenchanted with the current version of Christmas.

Which begs the question, why do we keep doing it? In the adage quoted by Elder Dallin H. Oaks,

a professor and ecclesiastical leader, “[We] can’t get enough of what we don’t need because what

we don’t need won’t satisfy [us]” (qtd. in Williams).

If the gifts were what really brought us joy, then surely wouldn’t the whole country feel

uplifted while in the throes of Christmas preparation? It is, according to singer Andy Williams,

supposed to be, “the most wonderful time of the year” (Williams). Nevertheless, America seems

to suffer every year from a “Blue Christmas” (Presley). Dr. Amir A Afkhami an expert in mental

health reports that, “…it is a period with at least some kind of disappointment, anxiety, or even

sadness, depression, and suicidal thoughts”. He says that these feelings stem from setting an

unattainable expectation for Christmas. The problem is many of us want to buy the perfect gift,

have a perfect dinner, or feel perfectly happy this time of year, but we often can’t (Afkhami).

Consequence: In addition to the mania, Christmas preparation seems to have gotten more

violent too. Every year we turn on the televisions the day after Thanksgiving and see “Black

Friday Bawls” on the news (Black Friday Brawls). Christmas used to mark a day where wars

would cease and enemies ate together, now it incites altercations in grocery stores (History.com).

Whatever happened to “peace [and] good will toward men”? (KJV Holy Bible). Clara Levinson,

author of Frugal Isn’t Cheap, remarks that “buying gifts seems to have replaced the true spirit of

the occasion” (66).

Source: Ohhsnapxoxo @ Someecards

 Gonzalez 4

According to Julia Schor in Jon Hansen’s Good Debt, Bad Debt, eighteen percent of what

the average American makes is used for paying off consumer debts like those left over from

Christmas (qtd. xxi). Such spending has resulted from the advertisement, shopping holidays, and

buying with unacquired money. On average, Americans spend over $900 per year on gifts

(Haury). Is it any wonder that many people are going into debt over Christmas? With this

frivolous spending comes the real possibility of debt, a deficit in savings, or worse, both.

Consequence: “What [we] do today may not have an immediate effect but may have a

very large effect later in life” With eighteen percent of income going towards consumer

spending, one is entirely unable to invest for the future. While it is not always feasible to live

entirely free of debt, we should not be drowning in it either. Hanson describes “bad debt” as

mostly coming from credit cards. Half of America habitually makes minimum monthly payments

to the credit card company. As we add more to that monthly payment we hurt our ability to pay it

off (19).

Opposing view: While spending is not often good for the average American, it is good for

the American economy. Commercialized holidays, like Christmas, are great for revenue and

encouraging sales. Stores who participate in Black Friday and Cyber Monday are likely to

benefit from it. Due to research by the National Retail Federation, we know that “holiday sales

represented nearly twenty percent of total retail sales” (Hibbard). When the stores do well, they

are able to hire more people, and bolster the economy. There has been consistent research by the

Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that there are

significant increases in retail employment during the month

of December. Desilver, Drew @ Pew Research Center None of these

 Gonzalez 5

economic successes would be feasible without the effects of a commercialized Christmas

(Desilver).

I understand that not everyone shares the same beliefs that I do about Christmas. As a

Christian, I believe that Christmas is a religious holiday in which to celebrate the birth of Christ.

There are; however, aspects of Christmas everyone can benefit from. Christmas is a time meant

to encourage cheer, generosity, family, and kindness (Rosch).

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! Maybe Christmas, he thought,

doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more” (qtd. Levinson

70).

Strengths:

STYLE: direct and rhetorical questions, occasional humor, “I” know what it’s like (informal
style that appeals to the intended audience without offending them)

Overall organization is good. Some of the paragraphs blend causes and consequences, but the
paragraph itself is focused on a specific point.

The required elements are here: problem, history, scope, causes, consequences, what’s at
stake/why we should care, an opposing view

MLA format is good—you’ve got a model here. A couple of the entries on her Works Cited are
missing info, but the most important one for you to note: the date accessed must go at the end of
every Internet source.

Weaknesses:

NO valid response to the opposing view. She presents the opposing view at the very end, which
almost makes materialism sound like a good thing, contradicting her argument.
 Gonzalez 6

The last two paragraphs focus on the good of Christmas and why we should go back to the more
humble beginnings without the commercial explosions. Keep the focus on where the trend is
going and why this problem is truly serious. (She does do a good job of linking her mellow intro
to her “happy” conclusion—a nice frame there—but leave the audience with a strong sense of
PROBLEM.)
 Gonzalez 7

Works Cited

Afkhami, Amir A. “Christmas Blues.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 23 Dec. 2011,

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/global-mental-health/201112/christmas-blues.

“Black Friday Brawls.” CNNTech, CNN, 2016,

www.cnn.com/videos.cnnmoney/2016/11/25/breaks-out-at-the-mall-black-friday-

shopping.cnnmoney

Desilver, Drew. “For Retailers, the Holidays Mean a Hiring Binge- and Then a Purge.”

Pew Research Center, Factank, 5 Dec. 2014, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/

2014/12/05/for-retailers-the-holidays-mean-a-hiring-binge-and-then-a-purge.

Freinberg, Richard A., and Cindy Evans. “Credit Cards.” St. James Encyclopedia of Popular

Culture, edited by Thomas Riggs, 2nd ed., vol.2, St. James Press, 2013, pp.2. Gale Virtual

Reference Library, Isoproxy.austincc.edu/login.edu/login?url=http://go.galeg roup.com/p

s/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=txshracd2487&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX2735800655&it=r

&asid=dcea2c638872d22d6442fb3103a2e897. Accessed 13 Oct. 2017.

Gianoulis, Tina. "Department Stores." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, edited by

Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, vol. 1, St. James Press, 2000, pp. 688-690.

Gale Virtual Reference Library,lsproxy.austincc.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/p

s/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=txshracd2487&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX38cc0491f047e07

49b92028ad 5d21b89d. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.

 Gonzalez 8

Grandma. “How Christmas Changed.” Personal interview. 26 Sept. 2017

Hanson, Jon. Good Debt, Bad, Debt. Portfolio, 2005.

Hibbard, J. “Holiday FAQs.” National Retail Federation, American Express, 19 Oct. 2015,

nfr.com/resources/holiday-headquarters/holiday-faqs.

History.com Staff. “Christmas Truce of 1914.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009,

www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/Christmas-truce-of-1914.

KJV Holy Bible. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints , 1991.

Levinson Clare. Frugal Isn’t Cheap. Career Press. Inc., 2013.

“Materialism”. Oxford Dictionaries English, Oxford Dictionaries,

en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/materialism.

Momsen, Taylor. “Where are you Christmas.” By Mariah Carey, James Horner, and Will

Jennings. How the Grinch Stole Christmas soundtrack. Warner Bros. Nashville, 2000. CD

Oaks, Dallin H. “Joy and Mercy.” Lds.org/Ensign, Nov. 1991, www.lds.org/ensign/1991/11/joy-

and-mercy?lang=eng&_r=1

Ohhsnapxoxo. “Black Friday.” Ecards From Free And Funny Cards and Hilarious Posts l

Someecards.com, Someecards, 25 Nov. 2015, www.someecards.com/search/?q=trample.

Presley, Elvis, and Jim Reeves. Christmas Favorites.

Pruitt, Sarah. “What’s the Real History of Black Friday?” History.com, A&E Television

Networks, 24 Nov. 2015, www.history.com/news/whats-the-real-history-of-black- friday.

 Gonzalez 9

Reedy, Jimmy. “Christmas as a Child.” 13 Oct. 2017

Rosch, Staks, “The True Meaning of Christmas.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com,

20 Dec. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/staks-rosch/the-true-meaning-of-chris_2_b_473

141.html.

Williams, Andy and Philip Van Doren Stern. It’s a Wonderful Christmas.