Everyone loves a traditional All Hallow's Eve, complete with intricate costumes and lucrative trick-or-treating. Every year, we can expect our neighborhood streets to be invaded by youngsters dressed as monsters, fairies and Disney characters. They knock on our doors, insisting that we satiate their craving for anything sugary and unhealthful, just because their identities are hidden behind silly, cliché masks. And we succumb to their demands.

Did anyone ever dare question the culture of Halloween? Perhaps it would be wise to examine the implications of this purported "holiday" that seems to be good clean fun at the outset. What values are America's youth in fact absorbing on the night of Oct. 31?

First, let's examine the concept of the Halloween costume. On one hand, the flocks of little girls clad in princess attire could occasionally pass for adorable. On the other hand, why is every little girl encouraged to dress like royalty? Aside from its egoist connotation, the princess costume is boring. It is typical. It is the pervasive platitude of Halloween.

What happened to creativity? Why must we dress our little girls in identical outfits that really don't bear any significant meaning? What message are we sending? The importance of thinking outside the box is lost on these children, all because our society insists on our acting uniformly. Think about it.

Further, costumes disguise one's true identity. Consider this aspect of Halloween for a moment. As if the rate of self-confidence among our country's youth isn't already low enough, let's designate a night to encourage these tender juveniles to dress up as something they aren't. Superficiality already dominates the culture of our schools. Halloween only inhibits progress and development out of this phase.

Once our kids are dressed and hidden behind their chosen clichés, it's time to begin the epic Halloween activity: trick-or-treating. In 2005, the National Confectioner's Association estimated that 80 percent of American adults were prepared to distribute candy to the 93 percent of American children who planned to ask for it.

The "don't talk to strangers" rule doesn't apply on Halloween night. "Please" doesn't apply either, for some reason. It's completely normal for kids to spend a night commanding four out of five area adults, many of whom they have never interacted with before, simply to give them candy. Manners have evaporated from neighborhood streets on Halloween night. Everyone is at the mercy of our children. Life just isn't like that.

Uniformity, superficiality and unreasonable commands: These all happen on Halloween. Therefore, they become ingrained into our culture. Maybe the accentuation of these rather unfortunate consequences of Halloween comes as a shock to you.

But step outside the picture of our youth gallivanting around in costume at dusk on Oct. 31. What truly occurs in our society on a regular basis? How different is it from Halloween?

Advertisements in magazines and on television constantly try to entice us into being as perfect, as successful as their models supposedly are. Our attention is captured by the prospect of reaching those ideals. America is fascinated by wealth. Our society is one of overachievers, in both academia and the work force. And when we don't get what we believe we deserve, it's simply unacceptable. We complain ad nauseum when we think something isn't right.

Well, shut up, America. Nobody wants to hear you complaining anymore. It's relatively clear that our authentic values have been replaced, and by Halloween culture, no less. We strive to costume ourselves according to the standards of the holiday. We mask our true character because it isn't considered perfect enough.

We go trick-or-treating with our peers and superiors, always demanding more, and not always in the most professional fashion. As silly as it sounds, we are all playing the silly games that were once reserved for our youth on a single fall night of the year.

It's Halloween 24-7 in our country these days. And personally, I'm frightened.