December 28, 2004
Lots of things bug me about Christmas, but this year what's bugging me most is the sense of obligation: the feeling that you have to give somebody a gift, and the further complication that it has to have about the same value as what they get you. For me it has about the same flavor as mutually assured destruction, except that in the end you get to consummate it in an orgy of shiny gift wrap and wanton expenditure. Don't get me wrong; I actually do enjoy giving (and getting!) gifts. But if it's really true that it's the thought that counts, doesn't that mean Christmas gifts -- which are essentially mandated -- pretty much don't count?
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