Abstract
This [the “Holiday Season”] is a very special time of year for us, a time for family reunions and for celebrating together the blessings of God and the promises He has given us… [T]his is a season of hope and of love.
Certainly one of the greatest blessings for people everywhere is the family itself. … It's in the family where we learn to think for ourselves, care for others, and acquire the values of self-reliance, integrity, responsibility, and compassion.
—Ronald Reagan, Radio Address to the Nation on the American Family (12/1/1983)
Ok, Cabbage Patch dolls…
…The ironic thing, of course, that the very party with the money—you—is the very one who has lost control. The kids, who have no money, have been wired by the manufacturer who wants your money. You're the monkey in the middle, frantically running through plate glass windows to satisfy a craving of your kid's, afraid to say no because that means breaking a promise and disappointing a kid—a crime punishable by guilt and, later, therapy fees.
So look at things the way the manufacturers do. See how there is a new item on the market, each a little bit different but all programmed the same. You can have one just by looking into the mirror. There it is, you and me: Sucker Doll. Wind it up and it will buy anything a kid wants.
—Richard Cohen, “Dollemma,” The Washington Post (12/1/1983)
Commodities are now all there are to see; the world we see is the world of the commodity.
Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle
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