With yet another holiday season upon up, many of us Canadians, not to mention millions of others around the world are once again feeling the pinch of the holiday season… (consumerism and corporate greed.)

Yes it is the end of another good year if you are the CEO or one of the top executives of some fortune 500 company. Yet for those of us far less fortunate, more and more we find ourselves nearing poverty, struggling to put those simple gifts under the tree or food on our tables, while millions of young children the world over suffer from famine. What should be a time of sharing, a time of compassion and giving, of brining families together to rejoice and reflect on the years accomplishments and celebrate life, has somehow transpired into something much less meaningful thanks to the world of consumerism and mostly, corporate greed. Instead we find that once again the true spirit of Christmas has been lost leaving so many of us with a sour taste in our mouths that we may not easily wash away.  Visions of sugar plums? Bah Humbug.

The “Corporate Grinch” hides his ugly head as he eagerly stashes away his new found wealth far from prying eyes as he plans his next diabolical move. Rubbing his greedy little fingers together while pondering yet more austerity cuts. Using cheap labour to amass his good fortune, he thinks no one has noticed his sinister ways. Yet in the real world of  “Whoville”, many people are awakening to find that perhaps the true spirit of Christmas means something a whole lot more!

 

With the ever increasing cost of maintaining our daily lives it’s not hard to see why so many of us feel overwhelmed during the holiday season. So much of our acquired wealth now goes to the “Corporate Grinch” that we can barely survive one holiday before the next one steps up to take it’s place. The vast majority of us struggle on a daily basis just to pay our ever increasing debt, leaving us feeling isolated and with little hope. Seldom do our meagre wages meet with the demand of todays modern world and yet each and every year we see a rise in expenses at every turn while the corporations who employ us reap huge profits. Almost yearly we see a increase in taxes, increased service fees, increases in food and housing prices, increases at the pump! And still they want more…

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? (Perhaps Kevin Bloody Wilson say it best  with his tribute to the holiday season.) I believe there is and it is in the awakening of millions of people worldwide. People are becoming more aware and opposed to the “Corporate Grinch” than ever before. People are coming together to oppose all levels of corporate greed and we need desperately to keep this momentum going. We need to become more aware of our actions when we shop for certain items manufactured with the use of cheap labour. We need to learn better to understand our economy, and those who would control it. We need to band together, strive together to make sure that no one is left hungry or cold. That every man, woman and child may know the true spirit of Christmas.