turning point
columnist joan ryan @ the chron has a great op-ed today on americas’ unbelievable spend-spend-spend and then throw-it-away consumerist mentality, where it comes from, and what it means. this is particularly poignant given the billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the south asian tsunami. those people don’t have food, clothing, water, or shelter. why the hell do i need an iPod?
“Culture of More Brings Less“.
“My son and I visited my 75-year-old aunt this summer in Tanzania, where she works with people dying of AIDS and with the orphans left behind. The poverty is pretty much what you would expect. Mud-brick shacks. No running water. The schools have no desks or chairs. Families subsist on the $2 or $3 a day they earn working in the fields, weaving rugs or selling roasted peanuts on the side of the road.
We saw firsthand how a little bit of money — what we might spend on a gossip magazine or a new toothbrush holder — can have a meaningful impact on a life there. So my son and I resolved upon our return home to be conscious of our spending, noting the difference between what we needed and what we wanted. When we refrained from spending money on something we didn\’t need, we promised to put the saved money in a basket made from candy wrappers, a souvenir from one of the Tanzanian women. We then would send the money to my aunt.
There is nothing in the basket. Not now anyway. There was money for the first few months. But during the holidays, we slid right back into the inviting, exciting slipstream of consumerism that had us toting home shopping bags filled with purchases that seemed not only appropriate at the time but just this side of imperative. Wonderful chocolates. Fragrant candles. Champagne. Gifts, gifts and more gifts.
Almost all of it went on the credit card. I whipped that thing around as if it were a magic wand that could, by transporting fabulous items from the store to my home, could make me more — what? I still can’t say. Maybe just more…
my #1 2005 Revolution is to stop buying shit i don’t NEED. just STOP. when you really start to make those conscious choices, it’s almost unbearable how hard it is to pull yourself away from whatever it is you think you want and walk away. it *hurts*, i tell you, and it’s really, really scary. then, most of the time, 10 minutes later you’ve forgotten about what it was you so desperately needed – that sweater, that magazine, that book, those shoes. i try to stick to a rule of “if you want it you have to come back for it”- leave the store and if you still want it the next day (or even remember that you wanted it) go back. i think the buyer’s remorse i had earlier this month was the turning point. i wanted to kick my own ass for that, and still feel totally stupid.
i’m really hoping i can do a better job of controlling my spending in 2005, and actually reach some of the financial goals i’ve set for myself (pay off student loads, pay off credit cards, put more $$ into 401(k), etc.). otherwise, at the end of next year i’ll feel as sick about it as i do right now.
Filed in things you can do | Tagged with consumerism, poverty | Comments (5)5 Responses to “turning point”
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I find for the most part that if you don’t read magazines, watch TV, or go to the mall, you have a very different idea of what you need (or even want) than if you are bombarded by advertising and PR.
When I worked in IT and got tons of computer magazines and was surrounded by people talking constantly about their new this-or-that, I found myself wanting, then needing those things.
Without such influences, I don’t even know what the hell is out there nevermind feel that I can’t do without it.
Although the more I hear people on their blogs gush incessantly about iPods, the more I find myself “needing” one.
[raises hand sheepishly] I must say I do love my iPod. It’s sort of sick how much I love it. However, let me justify it by saying that I listen to it constantly (at work, at the gym, at home) and it’s actually doing me a favor by keeping me away from TV and the like. I have so many books to read (35 at last count), having the iPod to keep me company is a big help.
That said, I totally agree with the need/want issue. I’m in a weird position of making all kinds of sacrifices and doing without a lot of things I think I want in order to raise money to fund the triathlete in my house as well as find some cash to send to the Red Cross. Then, when I do occasionally have some spending cash, I can’t remember what I thought I wanted.
Or I could be going senile. It’s a tough call.
Hey now, don’t go knocking on your friendly neighborhood PR flack, we’re not the advertisers and marketers, we’re the spinsters making crap look good. Oh, uh nevermind.
Amy, this is an excellent resolution and one that I think I will adopt as well. I have a long and stupid history of wanton consumption that’s been reinforced by built in obsolence (a HUGE part of the problem in my book).
I love my iPod though (no radio means less advertising there) and love my Tivo (fast forwarding through commercials is very cool!).
But I do need a new camera.
“she was often startled to discover how devalued the ethical sense, and the courage to exercise it, had become in American consumer culture.”
Susan Sontag (1933-2004)
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0501,indiana,59762,2.html
that was a most excellent link, evan, and inspiring. thank you for sharing – i’m definitely going to check out some of her books and essays as i’ve never read her work. thanks!