Sarah McLachlan - World On Fire

This informative music video raises some of the questions we will discuss in class.

What would the world look like if we took it to heart?

Materialism, anyone?

An AP reporter relates the intriguing history of Christmas/winter solstice in a story on materialism in America. This theme will crop up at least a few times in class. Money stats:

By the time the Christmas shopping season is over, the country will have spent in the neighborhood of $150 billion...that's an average of $500 for every man, woman, and child.

A study performed in the 1990s concluded that the average person buys 36 gifts for 14 recipients, though the number is likely to have increased since then.

Merry Christmas, indeed.