Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
In a nutshell, the Vermont that people want to preserve only existed through denial of consumerism, and consumerism now drives the country.
|
This observation fascinates me. Can you imagine what it would take to unplug the consumerism-driven economy, to draw people to a life that didn't include gadgets and "stuff" as some kind of reward for working or just for being alive?
Have you seen "The Story of Stuff"?
Click here to watch this eye-opening piece. I question some of the statistics, but I fully believe in the message and in that overview of the consumerist system.
I grew up among the super-consumers of South Florida. I left that scene for good over 20 years ago. I can't identify exactly when I disconnected from the consumerist mindset, but it was several years ago. I still have relatives who shop for fun and cannot understand why I don't enjoy shopping for things I don't need.
Last night my husband and I drove one leg of a
rescue-transport that for a sweet dog headed from a pound in rural Ohio to a rescue in Vermont. We picked up the dog on outlet row - Route 9 in Lake George. We saw signs for stores like "Casual Male." My husband and I looked at each other in bewilderment and realized we were standing in alien surroundings featuring activities that we could no more imagine participating in any more than we'd consider swimming in a septic tank. Somewhere along the way, the idea of shopping as an activity unto itself rather than an occasional necessity became unimaginable to me (barring browsing in a locally-owned bookstore, of course).
We do have computers, a TV, a VCR, and a digital camera, all of which are more than 5 years old. We got a cell phone when I went to New Orleans to help with animal rescue after the 2005 hurricanes; after much thought, I decided to use that option for communicating with the outside world; now we use the cell phone when driving rescue transports.
But furniture? Clothes? Gadgets? That stuff we readily do without, salvage from other people's perfectly good/fixable throwaways, or buy secondhand. Exceptions: Well-made items we will use frequently and for many years such as tools (if we can't find them used), artwork, functional art such as pottery for kitchenwares, and some books. I am an audiobook junkie so I bought an iPod to download free & other digital material and avoid CDs & plastic cases as well as cheap portable CD players, batteries, etc.
A study on buying less, buying used, and buying only high-quality items showed that far from damaging the economy, such changes in consumer spending would result in a demand for higher-quality longer-lasting goods, which would create more sustainable companies to produce them and more reliable jobs.
Every dollar spent is a vote on how the earth will be used. I know where I want my votes going. I am not anti-stuff or anti-consumption, because I am not anti-human. I am against stuff being used as a substitute for life and its truly fulfilling qualities, something which stuff can never can be. I am against stuff being made cheaply and poorly, with planned obsolescence, when it could be produced to the highest standards we can achieve. Especially when using stuff this way destroys the planet we all share.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
OT: Consumerism & stuff
Linear Mode
