Progress in an economic recession...

As we all have heard, this year's holiday shopping season was the worst it has been since the 1970s. So what's to blame?

The economic recession, deep discounts, and brutal winter weather have been cited by the International Council of Shopping Centers as the main reasons for the lack of shopping. According to the ICSC, sales in U.S. stores during the week of Christmas have fallen almost 2% from last year. Despite retailers efforts to draw in consumers with incredible discounts, the numbers show that things are bad as ever for the U.S. economy. 

As for me, my post-Christmas Day account of my friends and family's gift load did not seem like the holidays as usual. Furthermore, I have been thinking about how the economy's ability to force people to disinterest themselves with material possessions could actually be a form of progress. 

Once again, I feel the need to quote the transcendentalist genius of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Property also holds of the soul, covers great spiritual facts, and instinctively we at first hold to it with swords and laws, and wide and complex combinations."

Material possessions hinder our perception of what is important, and ultimately what is part of the true reality of our world. In his essay "Self-Reliance", Emerson points out how "property also holds of the soul". It controls us. Our thoughts and our actions are heavily swayed by our quest for material satisfaction. 

This holiday season, Americans did not go all out on material goods as we have in the past. This article from CNN.com proves it. I argue that this is an example of real, honest progress. Even though we were basically forced to detach ourselves from the usual department store spending spree, we still got through the holiday season with less material rewards than before. From my own account of things, nobody seemed to be complaining. I mean how badly do we need that new iPod after all?

In the end, I hope that this year's unavoidable downturn in holiday shopping could lead to purposeful relinquishing of over the top spending in the years to come. Perhaps we could make a progression in which more Americans can begin to act from Emerson's principles regarding material goods. I am trying to realistic on this topic, so I do not want to cross my fingers. However, I cannot deny my desire for American society to one day make this undeniably true progression. 

The Object of Clothing is...?

Earlier today, I read an article on CNN.com about the activities of an interesting organization. It is called Dress for Success, and it's an international charitable organization that helps provide business class clothes for the less fortunate. The main goal of the group is to equip people with the clothes that will give them the image they need for a job interview. 

In the article, Sonia Jacobson, executive director of the organization's Miami branch, commented on the importance of proper apparel when attending a job interview, "Immediately when that interviewer sees you, they're making an assessment based on how you dress, how you look, your grooming."

Jacobson's comments beg the question: Why are interviewers making assessments based solely off of a candidate's clothing? Shouldn't they be ultimately concerned with the quality of their character and their experience in the field?

Henry David Thoreau, the renowned transcendentalist author of "Walden", would certainly agree. 

"Let him who has work to do recollect that the object of clothing is, first, to retain the vital heat, and secondly, in this state of society, to cover nakedness"

According to Thoreau, clothing serves two practical purposes, and nothing more. Unfortunately, his values are not reflected in the opinions of many job interviewers or those of the general public. 

In the chapter Economy, Thoreau continues to say: "I sometimes try my acquaintances by such tests as this,-- Who could wear a patch, or two extra seams only, over the knee? Most behave as if they believed that their prospects for life would be ruined if they should do it."

After reading the article on Dress for Success, I feel that society truly does ruin the prospects of life for those that do not have the best clothing. I fully support the work of charitable organization, but I really wish that the efforts of Dress for Success were not necessary for people to get a good job. To read more about the recent activities of Dress for Success, click here.