This year, my favorite call to counter capitalism came via Treehugger online... http://www.treehugger.com/culture/brief-history-society-prevention-useless-giving.html . It's about a 1912 effort to curb useless giving at Christmas, but you can read all about that at Treehugger... Each year, something surfaces in the media about over-consumption at this time of year. Our family has, for the most part, shed gifts, since we're spending the second half of our lives trying to get rid of useless, shiny stuff that nobody wants or ever wanted, but that someone felt compelled to give. I prefer the gift of beauty that arrives unexpected, and that accompanies us every day in our families and friends. What's eye-opening about this story from Treehugger is that it demonstrates the ability of a few to get a message to a community, then to the nation, and the demonstration of the right of a person to stand up and speak his/her mind and truth, a right we seem to have nearly forgotte...