| 'Tis the season to renounce greed (12/07) | | Print | |
| Written by Aaron Light | |
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Looting. Crowding. Cheating. Fights. Mobs. Police. No, I’m not talking about a political demonstration gone wrong, or a violent insurrection — just holiday shopping. During the holiday season, reports from all over the country tell of the magnitude of mayhem that holiday shopping leaves in its wake. People line up hours before a store-opening in order to buy a loved one his ideal present, only to experience pandemonium when everyone crowds in at once. Fights break out in the aisles as customers argue over scarce items. In some cases, desperation reaches such an intense level that shops are robbed at gunpoint. America is a perpetually materialistic nation, but between Thanksgiving and New Year’s our true capitalist spirit becomes painfully apparent. Starting with Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, America loses all inhibition and becomes a cesspool of shallow and greedy consumerism, a vicious free-for-all in which people have only one thing on their mind — consumption. The extremes to which Americans pursue their greed is concerning. We need to reevaluate our need for most material goods and lessen our reliance on them. Although the holiday season emphasizes this darker side of America’s nature, it is anything but absent during the rest of the year. Materialism is so rampant that our possessions have become our identity. The clothing one wears, the car one drives, the electronic accessories one owns: these are the criteria by which one is constantly judged. We often go out of our way to purchase items that will present a certain image of ourselves. Our shortening attention spans have allowed first impressions to become lasting impressions, and so material status has taken the place of true character. America believes that “Bigger” or “Newer” is always “Better.” According to ThomasNet.com industrial trends, 78 percent of American households plan on buying at least one electronic product this year. No matter how easily many of us could live with the items that we already have (or without them for that matter), whenever we hear about a newer version (no matter how insignificant the improvements), we feel a need to snatch it up quickly. Take iPods for example. Apple releases new editions of them every year or two, with slight improvements to each edition. Yet, every time a new Nano or Shuffle is released, many rush to upgrade, even if nothing is wrong with their current models. From 160 Gigabyte iPods to Hummers to Marithé François Girbaud jeans, the question we eventually have to ask ourselves is, at what point do we stop owning our possessions and do they start owning us? Materialism has become so embedded in America’s culture that we need it to survive. Our economy is based on consumerism — our mass production and sale of items — to the point that if we slowed down our purchasing too much, we would have another depression. America relies upon its capitalistic nature to survive, especially during the holiday season, when stores often make one third of their entire year’s profits. One should simply try to curtail his purchasing of consumer goods, as many do on occasions like Buy Nothing Day that occur at different points in the year. Another thought, inspired by Do It Yourself (DIY) ethics, is just making things by yourself. The DIY ethics are perhaps the most interesting of one’s alternatives. Although it may not help the nation’s economy, it focuses on a different, yet equally important one — the local economy. Because DIY is all about making things for oneself, local hardware, fabric and home improvement stores all raise their profits when the subculture’s ideals are followed. DIY also promotes one’s individuality, providing an alternative to simply purchasing mass-produced pre-made items. But perhaps the most sensible alternative to mindless consumerism is the idea of Simple Living, a lifestyle in which individuals consciously choose to minimize their pursuit of wealth and consumption. Not nearly as difficult to do or as radical as most of the other anti-consumerist philosophies in the world, Simple Living reduces possessions, allowing for a lot more free time in life. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to advocate economic terrorism here. I’m not trying to tell anyone to pull a Henry David Thoreau, stop buying things and live as a hermit in the woods. All I’m saying is that we should curtail our spending, if only to be sensible. After all, why put so much importance on purchases we don’t need? So, don’t be one of the sheep this holiday season, being mindlessly led by the corporate masses. Go do something that actually matters. Spend time with your family. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Donate some of your things to the poor. Curb your materialism, if only for a few weeks this year. Just because most of America has sold their soul to the corporate devil doesn’t mean that you have to. |
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to listen.
