I am going to have to write to the big-wigs at Sears. Or call
them. What's the idea, anyway? What kind of a message is that to
send during the holiday season? Wish big? But that's exactly what the Sears television commercials are
suggesting -- wish big. Then again, why not? People in this country are already living beyond their
incomes and are charging all of those lovely 'extras' to their
credit cards. So why not wish big at Christmas time? By all
means, spend your available cash on necessities like food,
shelter and clothing. And then put that expensive piece of
jewelry -- or a large-screen television -- or a computer
complete with a $4,000 color laser printer -- on the credit
card and pay it off over the next two or three or four or five or
ten years. If you do that, you'll feel better. Much better. Then
you can do it again next year and extend that payment for
another ten years. Children are living with inflated expectations about what they
'should' want for Christmas, too. Toys? Books? Dolls?
Stuffed animals? Certainly not. Expensive electronics.
Games. Ipods. A computer for their rooms so they can roam
the Internet and be a target for every sexual predator out
there. That's the thing children need. Not something which
will challenge their imaginations and their creativity and their
thinking skills. Materialism and consumerism and capitalism. That's what
we should have more of in this world. That's what people
need to get them out of debt and back on the road to
financial solvency. That's what people need to help them be
healthy and live more comfortably. After all, if people are
busy working to pay for those "wish big" items, they won't
have the time or the energy to worry about what the
politicians or the big corporations are doing behind their
backs. Wish big, indeed. Well, I can 'wish big' too. Here's my idea of 'wishing big' for this holiday season -- 1. I wish that people would be nicer to one another. You
know -- the old 'golden rule' -- treat others the way you
would want to be treated. Then maybe we could say that
certain things no longer exist: CEOs who pocket huge
salaries while they squander their employees' retirement
funds, as well as other types of fraud and theft, not to
mention wars and murders and rapes and child abuse and
spouse abuse and elder abuse. 2. I wish that those people who are intolerant of other
people -- whether it's because of skin color or lifestyle or
economic status or religious beliefs -- would learn to be a
bit more tolerant. Even a slight increase in tolerance would
make the world a better place. 3. I wish that all of those people who are victims of natural
disasters (tsunami, hurricanes, earthquakes) could have
plenty of food and warm blankets and sturdy shelters and
money to rebuild their homes and their towns and their
villages. 4. I wish all of those people who are sick and dying and in
pain could find a cure for their ailments or relief from their
suffering. 5. I wish that those senior citizens -- and younger, people,
too (especially those families living without health
insurance) -- who have to make a choice between buying
their medicine and buying groceries would not have to
choose but would be able to afford both. 6. I wish all of those people in the world who are hungry
could have an abundance of food, and I wish all of those
people in the world who need shelter could have a home to
call their own. 7. I wish all of those who feel lonely and unloved and
unwanted could find find comfort in the love and
companionship of friends and family and neighbors and the
community around them. These are a few of my ideas about 'wishing big' for the
Christmas season. What are yours? © 2005 LeAnn R. Ralph LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books "Cream of the
Crop (More True Stories from Wisconsin Farm)" (trade
paperback, Sept. 2005); "Christmas in Dairyland (True
Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (trade paperback 2003);
"Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade
paperback 2004); "Preserve Your Family History (A
Step-by-Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and
Writing Oral Histories" (e-book 2004). You are invited to read
sample chapters, order books and sign up for the free
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