Oh, Andy, there you go having feelings about things.
Is your groaning out of the way? Well, let me elaborate on "Second Place" briefly.
So, my sister sends me a link to a short film, "The Story of Stuff." Here's the link.
Go watch it, it will take only a little time. I certainly recommend it, at least for a little perspective. Yes, it's designed for kids, but useful for adults as well (and thank goodness someone is trying to help kids gain awareness instead of learning and internalizing complacency for the existing system). Honestly, this little school film has given me a little boost -- to know that someone else out there would rather be called a "citizen" or a "doctor" or a "garbageman," anything than just a "consumer," always a "consumer."
Now, even if you don't watch the movie, the most interesting thing I found was the discussion of how consumerism became such a dominant force in American culture. Well, they attribute the trend to our post-WWII efforts to revitalize the economy. This was a new way of thinking, perhaps best encapsulated in the words of retail analyst Victor LeBeau (all in bold, and some italicized, because I was pretty shocked to read this):
"Our enormously productive economy…demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption…. We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate."
The thinking caught on, it's still with us. Also pointed out in the film: what did GW Bush tell Americans to do following 9/11? Yes, he did implore the American people to pray, to lend a hand to those in need, to believe in something. Yet under the banner of Freedom lies the Right of the Consumer. He also told the American people to go shop.
Negatives abound, and pointing out the positive aspects is just grasping for straws. The consumer culture has led to unprecedented waste and environmental impact (US consumers have recently been found to be the "least sustainable" in the world, that according to National Geographic's Greendex), to increased corporate influence in government, to a disaffected and complacent, and at times downright apathetic, body of citizens, to name a few. It has not led to a happier people. It has not led to a safer society or significant progress in education. Again, to name a few. We need to learn some humility, to reassess our priorities, to have something else to consider besides winnin' and shoppin'.
Update from July 1, 2009: Apparently I'm not alone!
