No Big Deal

Society has reached the point where everything is such a big deal that nothing is any longer a big deal.

Confused by that statement? Let me explain.

It used to be that great mile-stones in life were marked with great pomp and circumstance and a noteworthy celebration. These events were along the line of life changing moments such as significant birthdays, the final graduation from educational pursuits before entering the "real world" of employment or raising a family, weddings, 50th anniversary celebrations or funerals. Big deals, every one.

Somewhere along the way we got impatient. We can't wait to graduate from high school, college, or medical school. Now it is common to have blow-out celebrations in honor of kindergarten "graduation", or the passage from sixth grade to junior high school.

Weddings no longer mark the beginnings of life together for a man and a woman. Now couples live together for years before marriage, buy a car, a dog, and a houseful of possessions. Then they announce their nuptuals, have an over-the-top wedding and expect everyone who has ever crossed their path to drop everything, show up with an expensive gift and make a big deal over the happy couple's new life together.

"Sweet Sixteen" is no longer a milestone. Neither is the passage to adulthood at eighteen or the formerly significant twenty-first birthday. Now three year olds are having birthday parties with 40 guests and a $350 an hour costumed action figure impersonator. In fact, every birthday is a major event for some children. Everyone who is anyone can expect an invitation for junior's eleventh birthday party at the party room in the town's swankiest restaurant.

How do we know when something is really important anymore? Do we know? If it is important, how do we differentiate it from every other "important" event?

More questions than answers.