It is disturbing to read about the employee who was trampled to death at Wal-Mart while people scrambled for holiday bargains.

In the same issue of The Olympian, I learned that shoppers lined up at stores, even overnight, to be the first to grab a flat-screen TV. Both are examples of the importance many Americans put on acquiring material things, and the lengths we will go to get them.

Most of us do not show the same enthusiasm for social issues such as feeding the hungry, making sure all Americans have health care, or providing a safe and sustaining life for the aged. Would we stand in line overnight, even missing Thanksgiving dinner with our families, if it would help one of these causes?

As I head out to buy presents for relatives and friends, I will also pick up some gifts for the Light of Hope, drop a bag of groceries at the Food Bank or donate to a worthwhile charity at the Alternative Gift Fair.

It will be hard not to be stressed as I search for the perfect gifts for my love ones, but I will try to remember that gifts are only material objects. What is important? The welfare of our fellow human beings.

 Silver Pen Award for one of 12 best Letters to the Editor in 2008