Contrast this:

Out of the dining room and into the stores; the traditional day of feasting has turned into a day of early holiday shopping for some.

A spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation says some retailers are trying to find a way to take advantage of the fact that "once dinner is over, many families are looking for some kind of entertainment."

With this:

But while consuming mass quantities was once a big deal -- a splurge -- now we're all used to having plenty of food. Now the real splurge consists in getting everyone to take time from their busy schedules to all get together. It's a feast of no-other-priorities! I like it. I think that Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday, because it's all about getting the family together.

And while I am writing this Irene just quotes me a number from the newspaper which says that 36% of children below the age of six have a TV in their room. And, during last week's power outage some parents actually purchased a generator so that the kids could watch TV. Imagine that they would be forced to spend social time with the rest of their family. Or, perish the thought, creatively adapt to the situation by finding some new and alternative ways of entertainment which is what our kids did.

Yes, I know I have argued for the ability of free markets to forge great societies. But eventually we will have to pay some sort of price for offering up the family and the fun of human interaction on the altar of excessive consumerism and passive entertainment.