dylan bradley/editor-in-chief

It’s the same scene every year. People rush in and out of stores to do their holiday shopping. Sales banners and advertising flood consumer senses, keeping them focused on their goal.

Meanwhile, requests for charity directly compete with the best deals. Christmas trees with adoptable angels, prompts for donations on register screens and even the bell-ringing Santa all get lost in the rush for savings.

We should put effort into helping our communities while we buy for our friends and families.

America is a country of consumers, which isn’t going to change anytime soon. We’ve developed a culture that focuses on gifts and giving, but we need to fix the execution.

Donating a toy or money is a great first step, but we need to take it further. We need to make helping others more than a two-second decision while waiting in line to check out. We need to make it the focus of the holiday season.

While we comfortably fill out our wish lists with all the things we want, some people are wishing for their basic needs. Some people need a roof over their heads, heat, food or a combination of those things.

We should volunteer our time at shelters and food banks during the holiday season. We should be more concerned with the amount of time someone sleeps outside than how long it takes to park at the mall.

We can let family traditions continue but still make sure that one family tradition includes helping our society.

Even if we can’t change the focus of the holidays from materials to mankind, we can at least work on the execution.

Carols don’t need to become the anthems of frustration, and everyone can calm down in parking lots.

Children will continue to beg for toys while parents spend more than they should, and families will continue to ignore each other and pay attention to their new gifts.

The holiday season is here. Let’s enjoy it and stop being so selfish.