It seems almost ironic that only a few hours after the holiday of thankfulness, the largest consumerism event of the year occurs. Meant to symbolize the start of early Christmas shopping, Black Friday is not necessarily a negative thing in and of itself.  However, though Black Friday may be a perfect time to luck out on some sales and stock up gifts, the holiday’s close proximity to Thanksgiving begs the question of just how thankful we truly are for what we already have.

     Thanksgiving, in its essence, is a day where we can step aside from the craze of everyday life to look at what we have and feel truly appreciative.          However, Black Friday continues to get pushed further back into Thanksgiving each year,  the thankful feelings easily forgotten in the chaos of shopping, transforming a meaningful holiday into a day of shallow appreciation.

     “Black Friday is being transformed into a desire for more, and people are beginning to put it above Thanksgiving,” said Joel Johnson, senior.

     For example, according to Syracuse.com, Kmart is not bothering to wait for Black Friday this year. The Kmart stores will be open forty-two hours straight, opening at six a.m. on Thanksgiving all the way to midnight on Black Friday, making their employees work on the holiday and completely ignoring Thanksgiving’s set out time for family and thankfulness.

     Black Friday does not have to be a necessity for stores to complete their goal income. Take REI, an outdoor supply shop, for example. Instead of going crazy on Black Friday like the rest of the American stores, REI is completely closing down that entire day to encourage their customers to go outside and spend time with their family, rather than shop. Going the extra step, REI is even paying their employees to go out that day, starting #OptOutside.

     Even though Black Friday is a great opportunity for sales and early Christmas shopping, it is very possible that each year, the day takes a little bit more away from the holiday of Thanksgiving. So, this year when you are cutting out coupons or glancing through ads, take a moment to think about what you are thankful for and where you want your valued time to be spent over the holidays.

See the Broadcast version of this story at #SEETHEROAR on Twitter!