A professor recently relayed to me a story about a student a few years ago who said he was $3,000 in debt to a credit card company, but he had an awesome looking t-shirt.
A posting in a recent campus Sunday service about a mission trip said, "The cost of the trip is $75 and includes a T-shirt!"
During a recent briefing, ROTC Cadets were informed that they would receive a T-shirt for participation.
Also, if they took part in numerous events, a T-shirt was included.
Gore Gear, Bush Wear, Bradley Buys and McCain Merchandise, all officially sanctioned campaign stores for the top Presidential candidates in 2000, offered T-shirts for their candidates at an average cost of $20, not including shipping and handling.
According to Mike Sullivan of the Bradley Campaign, an average of $340,000 was raised by their campaign alone on such items.
Personally, as a collector of campaign T-shirts, 75 total, I never have had to pay for them.
After we leave a family picnic, a religious gathering, a political event, a credit card screening or any of the plethora of sports events, there remains the T-shirt to remind us of the occasion.
Forget Generation X or Generation Y, we have become the Generation T(ee) in America.
We are prepared to wear a T-shirt that proudly declares who we worship, what we smoke, what brand of beer we prefer and what we do and don't like about society.
We have T-shirts that promote businesses and we pay large sums of money to wear them -- Gap, Old Navy and The Limited.
Have we sold out in society to pay our hard-earned money to fuel the machine of free enterprise?
If so, why is it that this free enterprise costs us $39.99 plus tax?
Originally, T-shirts were something to wear under one's shirt.
As a military brat, three things were expected in my attire: a high and tight haircut; that my "gig" line was straight down my shirt, belt buckle and seam of my pants; and that I wore a T-shirt under my shirt.
But T-shirts have gone from a necessity to an easy-to-wear piece of apparel to what is becoming a cult item for many people.
What is it in our collective psyche that makes us want to possess these T-shirts?
After all, how many T-shirts can one own? Also, what do the T-shirts say about our society.
I think it says we are laid back -- we don't wish to take the extra bit of time to prepare our appearance.
We want life to be quick, fast, easy and disposable.
Most of all, we want something that can be changed out and matching to whatever suits our mood.
But then again, that's my idea.
What's yours?
