If we’re lucky in the Opinion section, we work through our beliefs completely and support them with great arguments. But sometimes, we don’t need a deeper reason to hold our convictions. Rapid Fire is for those tweet-length takes that can be explained in just a sentence or two — no more justification needed.
In this Rapid Fire, writers gave their opinions on the question: What does the holiday season represent about America?
Nell Srinath, Opinion Editor: Don’t get me wrong; I love receiving trinkets and gadgets during the holidays. But there’s something deeply unhealthy about gift-giving culture in the United States. The financial toll of buying gifts just for the sake of social obligations, especially to people who are close to you, is significant. Advertising culture has created an almost pathological attachment to gift exchange and it undermines other meaningful forms of interpersonal connection. I’ve seen this firsthand as a fighter on the front lines (I work retail).
Dan Stark, Associate Opinion Editor: There’s a startling connection between Hallmark Christmas movies and American suburbia. Every Hallmark Christmas movie uses the same formula and basic plot just copy and pasted over and over, which is similar to mass suburban expansion and those neighborhoods where all of the houses look the same.
Tomas Hinckley, Weekly Columnist: The unoriginality that exists in the music industry. We do not need more Christmas covers. The same songs don’t need to be replayed again every year. I am so tired of it. I at least give credit to people who make new original Christmas music (<3 Laufey), but still. This also comes from someone raised in an oppressively Christmas music household, all it takes is hearing Micheal Bublé’s voice and I start tweaking. Thank you for your time.
Athena Brown, Contributor: Religious exclusion. Traditionally, Christian and western holidays are celebrated in the government and school system by default, with only a sprinkling of other cultures for “diversity.” Why is it we get a week or more off for Christmas, but only some institutions give a singular day off for Eid or Yom Kippur, or none at all for holidays like Diawli? Are those celebrating them any less deserving of acknowledgement?
Who is getting a week off for Christmas lmao