Many view this as a celebration of the great American way. As Calvin Coolidge put it in 1925, "The chief business of the American people is business."

But we have additional values that don't enjoy multi-billion-dollar advertising budgets. Public schools, libraries and parks. Volunteerism. Religion. Especially this time of year.

Even Calvin Coolidge acknowledged, "Of course, the accumulation of wealth cannot be justified as the chief end of existence."

• Christians are advised by Jesus to avoid the risks of thieves, rust and moths by storing treasures in Heaven rather than on Earth.

• Our Muslim neighbors celebrate this month of Ramadan by fasting.

• The Amish find riches in a self-imposed simplicity every month of the year.

Few among us resist and rebel. But those few are especially concerned about the increasing commercialization of our schools. Make no mistake. What we call "our children" others call "a $500 billion market."

As advertiser Clyde Miller put it, "Think of what it can mean to your firm in profits if you can condition 10 million children trained to buy your product as soldiers are trained to advance when they hear 'forward march.'"

"It doesn't get any better," says James Twitchell of child branding. "It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

That's what the cola wars are about. Conditioning kids. That's what Coke gets from its exclusive contracts in high schools. That and the monopolistic opportunity to dispense its liquid candy in 20-ounce bottles for a dollar rather than 12-ounce cans for 50 cents. A sweet deal in every sense.

[Omitted by Editor: Joe Camel and the Marlboro man were especially successful in addicting thousands of under-age smokers. Many will die of tobacco related illnesses –  smoking until death the brand chosen in their teenage years.]
 
[Omitted by Editor: The cost of one-and-a-half $2.00 packs a day from age 15 to 65? If invested in mutual funds instead of tobacco it’s a retirement nest egg worth about $2 million. “Think of what it can mean to your firm in profits,” indeed! Especially when the product – like soda and cigarettes – costs only pennies to manufacture.]

The Federal Trade Commission says the movie and video game industries have been deliberately marketing to youth products rated for adults only.

So, is everything corporate evil? Of course not. What would our balance of payments be without Boeing's exports of airplanes, and Hollywood's exports of films and television programming? How else could we employ 100 million Americans?

Or consider the generous and benign ways local merchants support our schools.

It is the overreaching, primarily by national advertisers, that most concerns educators and their numerous professional associations.

Professor Alex Molnar, of the University of Wisconsin's Center for the Analysis of Commercialism in Education, says advertising and education have opposite goals. Education encourages students’ rational judgment.

Advertising, he says, "systematically sets out to undermine the ability of people to make rational judgments." To choose Coke over Pepsi when neither makes sense.

He identifies and discusses seven categories in "the commercial transformation of America's schools." Sponsorship of programs, events and contests. Exclusive contracts (soft drinks). Incentives to buy (money or goods for boxtops). Space for ads (cafeterias and scoreboards). Teaching materials (pro-corporate content and logos). Electronic advertising (Channel One). Privatization (corporate ownership of entire schools).

If we care about such commercial intrusions we might begin with a thorough inventory of our school district's present web of corporate and advertising relationships.

Once informed, we can consider the options. We can affirmatively go for even more corporate revenue. Or we can forgo those dollars and try to create a more commercial-free environment for our students. It’s our choice.

Happy Holly-daze.

Nicholas Johnson is an Iowa City School Board member. More information is available on his Web site www.nicholasjohnson.org.