On Greeting Cards

Hannah Arendt and Heidegger talk about how if we don't express particular parts of ourselves as humans, we may lose the ability to express them at all. Arendt says this in regard to freedom. At a much more mundane level, I think greeting cards may emotionally handicap us. If we aren't able to express our emotions to those we love most, me may lose our capacity to do so. The best thing that greeting cards can possibly be is well-chosen. They rarely show or develop a deep level of self-understanding or the ability to express sentiments well. They make it all too easy not to learn to articulate your own feelings and express your own love and appreciation.