It is a shame that we have become so self-absorbed with our own lives that we completely lose any sense of humanity toward others.

We’ve all lost our minds. And for what? I have always been told it’s better to give than to receive at Christmas, but I don’t think a black eye was what they had in mind when they told me this.

It seems like every year the violence surrounding the Christmas shopping season gets worse. Historically violence has surrounded the Christian religion, as it has many religions.

Nowadays, however, the violence isn’t about spreading the message of God but rather getting our children what they want for Christmas.

I spent my Thanksgiving with family in Atlanta. On Tuesday night, Nov, 22, we were treated to stories about the carnage following the release of the Xbox 360.

One Georgia woman was followed home from the store and forced at gunpoint to give up her Xbox 360, according to www.firstcoastnews.com. This person was willing to take a life for an Xbox.

On the Drudge Report Web site, you can follow four different links to Web pages with video and stories of some sort of violence because of shopping.

It is a shame that we have become so self-absorbed with our own lives that we completely lose any sense of humanity toward others. Instead of telling Junior that we feel his or her Christmas gift request is unreasonable, we would rather resort to violence, including holding someone at gunpoint.

Spoiling our children is only half of the problem. The other half is about status. It’s about being able to tell our friends and co-workers, “I got Junior an Xbox 360.”

In our minds that makes us better parents. But it is also about the current trend in parenting: wanting to be cool in the eyes of our children.

It’s time we get a grip on reality, because material goods like these are very, very not important. There are much more important things, like family.

My brother is currently stationed in Iraq, and when my mother asked me what my wife and I want for Christmas, I told her that the best gift would be to fly my brother’s family back to Wisconsin so that they — and we — could be with family.

Maybe it’s the age I’m at, maybe it’s the experiences I’ve had in life, but I realize that loved ones can die at anytime, and your time with them is limited.

Therefore, it’s much more important to spend time with our children than to worry about giving them the latest toy or gaming system.

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