Saturday, March 27, 2010
Check out this Article in the Washington Post:
I just read a great article in the Washington Post about our excess "stuff" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032603608.html. In the article it mentions that there is a new book out called "The Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard. It sounds really good and it gets into where we get all our stuff from (globally) and where it all ends up and really examines our issues with excessive consumerism- especially as it relates to environmental impact. I'm excited to read the book since I haven't really discussed that aspect of my motivations for a year without buying. Since I'm not buying anything new, I'll have to rely on the public library system, which means waiting on a long list for it, but once I do read it, I'll post a review of it.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
All About Sacrifice
Another month gone by… and now I have an infraction to report. I have rationalized it so that I don’t feel like it was a violation of my commitment, but my husband thinks it is. I’ll let you be the judge. A few days ago, I decided that the huge toy box spilling over with toys had to go. So, I donated half the toys, and will donate the box as soon as my kids are done playing hide in the box and jump out to surprise people. In order to simplify my home and keep things tidy, I decided I needed a bookshelf that would hold the books we have strewn about downstairs and also hold a couple of baskets for small toys to keep downstairs. This was, admittedly not a real need, just a desire of mine. While I was at the thrift store getting some jeans for my son, I saw a little solid wood bookshelf that would be perfect. I bought it for $5. This thing was in poor condition with masking tape all over it. I peeled that off and sanded it down and re-stained it. I figure that this is not a violation of the spirit of my resolution because I gave away, and reduced my material possessions before adding this one on, and I bought used, and not just a “find”- a used item that not many people would want and put work into it to make it nice again. It was purchased slightly on impulse and yes, I do have those happy feelings of something new that I wanted, but, I did sacrifice something I had to obtain it.
In this entry I would like to talk about sacrifices we make and how they affect our outlook on life. In my last entry I discussed in part, a problem our society today has with truly appreciating what we have. Of course, the question arises as to how exactly we can help ourselves and our children be grateful for what we do have. It seems to me that understanding of one thing comes from understanding its opposite. This is generally how we define things- especially abstract things. What is love?- it is not hate, or negative feelings, or apathy, it is the opposite. So, in order to appreciate what we have, we have to understand what it is not to have it. As I discussed before, in earlier days, it seemed like people appreciated what they had more because there was less of it. However, this certainly was not always the case I’m sure. If you think of many people raised in poverty while seeing wealth around them, they do not just appreciate what they have, they aspire to have what they do not have. This is a reasonable desire, especially if one’s needs are not being met. However, as I also pointed out earlier, this insecurity and desire for more will not end once the needs are met. Many people who have pulled themselves up out of poverty end up being very greedy and seeking for more and more- it is never enough to truly feel secure and satisfied. Of course there are a variety of personal attributes and philosophical impacts on an individual that can change this aspect of human nature, but basically, that is how it works. So, if someone who was once in poverty but then obtained wealth doesn’t necessarily appreciate what they have how does understanding what it is to have and what it is to not have cause one to appreciate? I believe it is a matter of conditions. In this time of plenty/overabundance, true appreciation will come when we willingly give up something we want in order to understand what it is to be without it. This should not be too surprising. Most religions have some tradition of sacrifice in which one is expected to do without something they are accustomed to enjoying for a certain period of time. Catholics can certainly understand this with their observance of Lent where one is expected to give up something they really like for 40 days. There is Ramadan, Passover, temporary or permanent vows of silence, celibacy and such. On the extreme end, there are those who choose to live the life of a monk or a nun. In my church, we fast for three consecutive meals once a month and then donate what we would have spent on that food to those in need. One goal of this as a religious experience is to show one’s willingness to give up anything for the sake of faith, but anyone who has gone through the experience with sincerity has most likely found that it sharpens the mind’s understanding of many things. Especially in the case of a sacrifice of something that is truly important to someone, it becomes so clear that we tend to attribute such importance to things that distract us from simplicity and truth. Much of the anxiety, fear, and misery we experience come from our belief in the need for one thing or another and our efforts to make sure we hold onto that thing or to obtain it. In certain times of my life, I have lost things that truly do seem important- a job even. But, I like to play worst case scenario, and not matter what- thanks to friends and family to support me, I find that even with the great loses and the possibility of losing more, I will always find a way to be okay. In absence of having such an experience happen to you, try to imagine what your life would be like without the many things in it. Start with possessions, and peel off all the layers, trying to imagine what you would do without this or that, think really hard, positively and honestly, and in the process you will come to the parts of your life that you honestly could not live without. Now, once you have found those parts, redirect your energy and resources to those things and forget about the rest. See how liberating it will be and how peaceful you will feel.
As I have gone without buying new things and attempted to understand the difference between being a typical consumer and instead a creator and reuser, I have come to see that what I have given up is not so essential to me. I can see that many of the things that I saw as needs before were really wants. Truly, all any human being needs is shelter, food, water, sleep, clothing and companionship. To really be a part of society, other things do become necessary so I don’t really advocate that stark of a lifestyle, but it can be liberating to occasionally simplify your life to that level. An easy way to do that is to go camping. I enjoy camping as an adult more than ever because sometimes I really need to separate myself from the tv, computer, phone, radio, and stuff that is normal life. I marveled when I first took my daughter camping- she was 2 and had never been good at going to bed at night, however, in the absence of artificial light and following the cues of nature, she went to bed shortly after dark with no complaint or trouble.
So, for Spring Break, I am going to take my kids camping and use this as an opportunity to wean them off of too much tv! Hopefully, when they go a few days without the option, they will come to realize that there are better things to do and they won’t be asking to watch tv all day. To anyone reading, I challenge you to pick something to temporarily sacrifice and let me know the impact it has on your life.
In this entry I would like to talk about sacrifices we make and how they affect our outlook on life. In my last entry I discussed in part, a problem our society today has with truly appreciating what we have. Of course, the question arises as to how exactly we can help ourselves and our children be grateful for what we do have. It seems to me that understanding of one thing comes from understanding its opposite. This is generally how we define things- especially abstract things. What is love?- it is not hate, or negative feelings, or apathy, it is the opposite. So, in order to appreciate what we have, we have to understand what it is not to have it. As I discussed before, in earlier days, it seemed like people appreciated what they had more because there was less of it. However, this certainly was not always the case I’m sure. If you think of many people raised in poverty while seeing wealth around them, they do not just appreciate what they have, they aspire to have what they do not have. This is a reasonable desire, especially if one’s needs are not being met. However, as I also pointed out earlier, this insecurity and desire for more will not end once the needs are met. Many people who have pulled themselves up out of poverty end up being very greedy and seeking for more and more- it is never enough to truly feel secure and satisfied. Of course there are a variety of personal attributes and philosophical impacts on an individual that can change this aspect of human nature, but basically, that is how it works. So, if someone who was once in poverty but then obtained wealth doesn’t necessarily appreciate what they have how does understanding what it is to have and what it is to not have cause one to appreciate? I believe it is a matter of conditions. In this time of plenty/overabundance, true appreciation will come when we willingly give up something we want in order to understand what it is to be without it. This should not be too surprising. Most religions have some tradition of sacrifice in which one is expected to do without something they are accustomed to enjoying for a certain period of time. Catholics can certainly understand this with their observance of Lent where one is expected to give up something they really like for 40 days. There is Ramadan, Passover, temporary or permanent vows of silence, celibacy and such. On the extreme end, there are those who choose to live the life of a monk or a nun. In my church, we fast for three consecutive meals once a month and then donate what we would have spent on that food to those in need. One goal of this as a religious experience is to show one’s willingness to give up anything for the sake of faith, but anyone who has gone through the experience with sincerity has most likely found that it sharpens the mind’s understanding of many things. Especially in the case of a sacrifice of something that is truly important to someone, it becomes so clear that we tend to attribute such importance to things that distract us from simplicity and truth. Much of the anxiety, fear, and misery we experience come from our belief in the need for one thing or another and our efforts to make sure we hold onto that thing or to obtain it. In certain times of my life, I have lost things that truly do seem important- a job even. But, I like to play worst case scenario, and not matter what- thanks to friends and family to support me, I find that even with the great loses and the possibility of losing more, I will always find a way to be okay. In absence of having such an experience happen to you, try to imagine what your life would be like without the many things in it. Start with possessions, and peel off all the layers, trying to imagine what you would do without this or that, think really hard, positively and honestly, and in the process you will come to the parts of your life that you honestly could not live without. Now, once you have found those parts, redirect your energy and resources to those things and forget about the rest. See how liberating it will be and how peaceful you will feel.
As I have gone without buying new things and attempted to understand the difference between being a typical consumer and instead a creator and reuser, I have come to see that what I have given up is not so essential to me. I can see that many of the things that I saw as needs before were really wants. Truly, all any human being needs is shelter, food, water, sleep, clothing and companionship. To really be a part of society, other things do become necessary so I don’t really advocate that stark of a lifestyle, but it can be liberating to occasionally simplify your life to that level. An easy way to do that is to go camping. I enjoy camping as an adult more than ever because sometimes I really need to separate myself from the tv, computer, phone, radio, and stuff that is normal life. I marveled when I first took my daughter camping- she was 2 and had never been good at going to bed at night, however, in the absence of artificial light and following the cues of nature, she went to bed shortly after dark with no complaint or trouble.
So, for Spring Break, I am going to take my kids camping and use this as an opportunity to wean them off of too much tv! Hopefully, when they go a few days without the option, they will come to realize that there are better things to do and they won’t be asking to watch tv all day. To anyone reading, I challenge you to pick something to temporarily sacrifice and let me know the impact it has on your life.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thinking of our Kids
It has been a little over a month since I started this resolution of mine. There have been a few challenges, but overall, it has been positive. The greatest mistake I have made is in not properly preparing my family and organizing my life to make it easier. Since starting, I have unsubscribed from the multitude of emails I used to receive that alerted me to this sale or that promotion. I have eliminated the weekly routine of scanning the Sunday newspaper ads for sales. I have also stopped the practice of taking the kids to the store to browse the toys etc. as a form of entertainment.
I had a couple of particularly bad experiences shopping with my children. First, I was at Walmart with my kids and we had wandered over to the Christmas toy clearance section (red alert right? ). My 5 year old daughter saw a toy that she “really wanted” and was begging me for it. I, with a good deal of satisfaction, proclaimed to her that this year we would not be buying anything new! I foolishly thought that my daughter would magically grasp the liberating joy of this idea- yeah, I know, I’m delusional on occasion. Instead, she began to bawl and shout at me that she didn’t like that idea at all. Bratty moment, yes, but can you really blame my daughter? How foolish of me to wait until she was in the middle of coveting an object to tell her of my resolution that automatically involved her. I was able to calm her down somewhat by telling her that she would still be getting presents for her birthday and Christmas (before this year I kind of cheated and put some toys away for those occasions) but that we just wouldn’t be buying all of these things that we didn’t really need just because we wanted them. Later I organized myself and my husband and I sat down and talked with our daughter, sharing the story of the Good Samaritan, and explaining that there are many people that don’t have as much as we do, and since we are blessed with more, we have the responsibility to share with others and help them any way we can. We made a goal that every time she received presents for birthdays, Christmas and such that she would find at least one thing that she has that she can donate. We talked about how we will focus on how we can give instead of what we will receive this year as a way of showing how much we appreciate what we have. My daughter listened to this, and understood what we were saying and I believe she is genuinely eager to do this. So far we have done little things like taking bread to a family that moved in and helping shovel snow for neighbors. I think that this Summer when she is out of school, we will do many more hands on service projects.
The other hiccup to this plan of mine came when I took my 3 year old son to a story time at a bookstore. While we were waiting for story time to begin, my son found a little wind-up toy that he REALLY wanted. Normally, I would have just purchased it for him. No doubt the bookstore has story time to bring customers in with the idea that they will buy things while they’re there and I’ve always felt the pressure to do so. However, on this occasion, I had to say no to my son. He had a mega tantrum and we left the store without enjoying the story time.
I like the extra incentive I have to say no to my children when they ask for all these little trinkets, I think that ultimately it makes me a better parent with less spoiled children. However, as you may have guessed, I don’t take my kids shopping with me much anymore.
All of this has caused me to think a lot about the messages we send our kids and the damage that consumerism is doing to them. Before this year, I took my kids to stores all the time just to look around because it was a quick and readily available activity and perfect when the weather is bad. The kids would look at toys, I’d look at home décor, clothes etc.. and we would have a great time- usually leaving the store with a toy. From a very early age, my children learned how shopping works and would soon be begging to be allowed to swipe the credit card or hand the cashier the money. Looking back on this, I think it is sad that my children came to see the regularity and importance of this more than they did the beauty of stopping to enjoy nature or the fun of making each other laugh. Instead of teaching them that the focus should be on what we have, the many joys that are free for the taking, I taught them to believe that good times came from things, from buying, from obtaining- things that would ultimately leave them empty and searching for more.
It is easy and almost cliché to think back on “the good old days” but truthfully, what about those good old days. I am sure that the desire to have more has been around from the beginning of time, but we have given into that desire more and more over time. How blessed are we that we can afford all of this extra stuff. Really, how fortunate am I that I can even think about buying less when there are many who don’t have enough money to buy food. Once upon a time, children received one present for Christmas. My husband, who grew up in the Soviet Union had that experience. Sometimes, there weren’t even presents, it was just a celebration because you had extra good food to eat. Even if people who lived that life of simplicity wished they had more, they still had a greater appreciation for the things they did receive. Today, we receive and buy so much, but value it so little. How quickly are the mountains of toys received at Christmas broken or forgotten? This past year it took my kids two days to exhaust the fun of their presents. As a parent I want to relish in the joy my children have at opening presents and it is tempting to fall into the pattern of bigger and better. It is like a drug, over time you need more and more to get your fix and it fades quicker and quicker. Similarly, over our lifetime we become less and less satisfied with life- been there done that. By overloading our children at such an early age, we accelerate that progression into apathy for life. How many teenagers do you know who appear to be unable to enjoy life- really enjoy it instead of complaining of boredom with eyes glued to the computer screen or cell phone.
During times of celebration, instead of focusing on the presents, I want to focus on the feelings and joy of togetherness. I have always been very pragmatic about gifts for myself. I usually only want useful things. I think the best gift is something that I didn’t have to ask for, like when a loved one takes the time to think about what I really need and then expresses their love for me by taking care of that need. Whatever happened to homemade gifts. Why have we robbed our children of that even greater joy that comes from working hard on something for someone else and then surprising them with it.
I remember feeling deprived as a child because I didn’t have as many toys as many of my friends, so I understand that even if I change the way I approach consumerism with my children, they may not grasp the full importance of it and simply feel bad that they don’t have as much as others. Hopefully I can give them some perspective through a focus on giving instead. In Tim Kasser’s book The High Price of Materialism he talks about how several studies show that materialism is higher in people who did not grow up with a feeling of security. This can be a lack of financial security or emotional security. People naturally (or through partial influence of advertising) try to fix insecurity with accumulation of wealth and possessions. The studies cited in this book also showed that such materialism never contributed to greater happiness in the individuals. Although the world in general preaches the gospel of consumerism, I believe that if I help my children feel emotionally secure (financial security comes easier when you aren’t buying things), they will not feel as strong of a desire for material accumulation. If I show my children that I love them by spending time with them and truly listening when they talk to me, instead of buying them things to keep them quiet- which ultimately only makes them feel less loved, I think they will not feel deprived and will instead have confidence and peace.
I had a couple of particularly bad experiences shopping with my children. First, I was at Walmart with my kids and we had wandered over to the Christmas toy clearance section (red alert right? ). My 5 year old daughter saw a toy that she “really wanted” and was begging me for it. I, with a good deal of satisfaction, proclaimed to her that this year we would not be buying anything new! I foolishly thought that my daughter would magically grasp the liberating joy of this idea- yeah, I know, I’m delusional on occasion. Instead, she began to bawl and shout at me that she didn’t like that idea at all. Bratty moment, yes, but can you really blame my daughter? How foolish of me to wait until she was in the middle of coveting an object to tell her of my resolution that automatically involved her. I was able to calm her down somewhat by telling her that she would still be getting presents for her birthday and Christmas (before this year I kind of cheated and put some toys away for those occasions) but that we just wouldn’t be buying all of these things that we didn’t really need just because we wanted them. Later I organized myself and my husband and I sat down and talked with our daughter, sharing the story of the Good Samaritan, and explaining that there are many people that don’t have as much as we do, and since we are blessed with more, we have the responsibility to share with others and help them any way we can. We made a goal that every time she received presents for birthdays, Christmas and such that she would find at least one thing that she has that she can donate. We talked about how we will focus on how we can give instead of what we will receive this year as a way of showing how much we appreciate what we have. My daughter listened to this, and understood what we were saying and I believe she is genuinely eager to do this. So far we have done little things like taking bread to a family that moved in and helping shovel snow for neighbors. I think that this Summer when she is out of school, we will do many more hands on service projects.
The other hiccup to this plan of mine came when I took my 3 year old son to a story time at a bookstore. While we were waiting for story time to begin, my son found a little wind-up toy that he REALLY wanted. Normally, I would have just purchased it for him. No doubt the bookstore has story time to bring customers in with the idea that they will buy things while they’re there and I’ve always felt the pressure to do so. However, on this occasion, I had to say no to my son. He had a mega tantrum and we left the store without enjoying the story time.
I like the extra incentive I have to say no to my children when they ask for all these little trinkets, I think that ultimately it makes me a better parent with less spoiled children. However, as you may have guessed, I don’t take my kids shopping with me much anymore.
All of this has caused me to think a lot about the messages we send our kids and the damage that consumerism is doing to them. Before this year, I took my kids to stores all the time just to look around because it was a quick and readily available activity and perfect when the weather is bad. The kids would look at toys, I’d look at home décor, clothes etc.. and we would have a great time- usually leaving the store with a toy. From a very early age, my children learned how shopping works and would soon be begging to be allowed to swipe the credit card or hand the cashier the money. Looking back on this, I think it is sad that my children came to see the regularity and importance of this more than they did the beauty of stopping to enjoy nature or the fun of making each other laugh. Instead of teaching them that the focus should be on what we have, the many joys that are free for the taking, I taught them to believe that good times came from things, from buying, from obtaining- things that would ultimately leave them empty and searching for more.
It is easy and almost cliché to think back on “the good old days” but truthfully, what about those good old days. I am sure that the desire to have more has been around from the beginning of time, but we have given into that desire more and more over time. How blessed are we that we can afford all of this extra stuff. Really, how fortunate am I that I can even think about buying less when there are many who don’t have enough money to buy food. Once upon a time, children received one present for Christmas. My husband, who grew up in the Soviet Union had that experience. Sometimes, there weren’t even presents, it was just a celebration because you had extra good food to eat. Even if people who lived that life of simplicity wished they had more, they still had a greater appreciation for the things they did receive. Today, we receive and buy so much, but value it so little. How quickly are the mountains of toys received at Christmas broken or forgotten? This past year it took my kids two days to exhaust the fun of their presents. As a parent I want to relish in the joy my children have at opening presents and it is tempting to fall into the pattern of bigger and better. It is like a drug, over time you need more and more to get your fix and it fades quicker and quicker. Similarly, over our lifetime we become less and less satisfied with life- been there done that. By overloading our children at such an early age, we accelerate that progression into apathy for life. How many teenagers do you know who appear to be unable to enjoy life- really enjoy it instead of complaining of boredom with eyes glued to the computer screen or cell phone.
During times of celebration, instead of focusing on the presents, I want to focus on the feelings and joy of togetherness. I have always been very pragmatic about gifts for myself. I usually only want useful things. I think the best gift is something that I didn’t have to ask for, like when a loved one takes the time to think about what I really need and then expresses their love for me by taking care of that need. Whatever happened to homemade gifts. Why have we robbed our children of that even greater joy that comes from working hard on something for someone else and then surprising them with it.
I remember feeling deprived as a child because I didn’t have as many toys as many of my friends, so I understand that even if I change the way I approach consumerism with my children, they may not grasp the full importance of it and simply feel bad that they don’t have as much as others. Hopefully I can give them some perspective through a focus on giving instead. In Tim Kasser’s book The High Price of Materialism he talks about how several studies show that materialism is higher in people who did not grow up with a feeling of security. This can be a lack of financial security or emotional security. People naturally (or through partial influence of advertising) try to fix insecurity with accumulation of wealth and possessions. The studies cited in this book also showed that such materialism never contributed to greater happiness in the individuals. Although the world in general preaches the gospel of consumerism, I believe that if I help my children feel emotionally secure (financial security comes easier when you aren’t buying things), they will not feel as strong of a desire for material accumulation. If I show my children that I love them by spending time with them and truly listening when they talk to me, instead of buying them things to keep them quiet- which ultimately only makes them feel less loved, I think they will not feel deprived and will instead have confidence and peace.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Starting Fresh
So, being an extreme type of person, this year I have a New Year's resolution that is kind of crazy- I'm not going to buy anything new for an entire year. This isn't a new idea, I heard a story on NPR about some people doing this a few years ago- I think they called it "The Compact." Pretty much, the idea is to curb consumerism by eliminating the purchase of anything new (within reason). Food and sanitary items are excluded of course- and I am excluding things like office supplies (paper and printer ink...). My main goal is to think carefully before I buy something. Do I really need it? If so- can I borrow it, buy it used, or make it? People do this kind of thing for a lot of reasons, and I'd say I'm doing it for most of those reasons. Certainly it will save money and help my family pay off a mound of student loans but really, there is much more to it for me. Here are some reasons I came up with:
1. Shift the focus from "What can I buy to make my family" to "What can I do to make my family happy?" Marketing has done a good job of convincing us that happiness comes in a box. This causes us to pull out our wallets whenever there is a problem or dissatisfaction with life. Countless studies have shown that this actually makes our problems worse and that a focus on non-material things will bring more enduring happiness.
2. Conserve resources. It is ridiculous that in our "going green" craze people have been convinced that going green involves buying more things. For things that are used up frequently- cleaning supplies and such its a good idea, but surely we understand that we have to weigh how much more efficient the new product is to the old one (say a washing machine) against how much energy and resources went into making the new product. Beyond this, as an excessive consumer, I have realized that I have more stuff than I need and I keep buying more. This demand I create for unessential items puts a strain on our environment as our precious resources are used to create all of that junk.
3. Become more globally aware and responsible. This reason is certainly debatable and complicated and I hope to contemplate on it more over the year.
There are great inequalities in the world. Excessive consumerism in the US seems to perpetuate this a little. Yes, we are buying goods from other countries, thus giving them an economic livelihood. We also demand that our products be cheap, so we can buy more things. Our demand to have it all means we have forsaken our native manufacturing plants in favor of the pennies-a-day labor of other countries. Certainly there are a lot of Americans that could use a job these days. In addition to this, while we are supplying jobs to other countries that need them, the wages earned for these jobs ensure a life of poverty by American standards. How would all of this change if we bought less and accepted a higher price tag for more globally responsible products? Yes, this messes with pure capitalism a little and supply and demand. However, what if the demand in a market driven economy included a desire for social responsibility? We could still get the lowest price for living wage produced products- it would just cost more than we are used to today. Global economics is not one of my strong suits and I intend to read up on the issue and I welcome input from others on this matter.
This year is intended to be an extreme solution to my over-consuming instincts. I understand very well that if everyone in the US stopped buying anything new for an entire year we would have a lot of serious problems (although I can't imagine that ever happening). I'm not saying this is an answer to all of my problems and the world's. I do know that looking at the situation from this extreme vantage point will help me to contemplate things more clearly and hopefully do a great deal to bring my family closer together and de-clutter my life.
The choices I make concerning this resolution will be guided by the reasons I have listed above and I will post updates around the first of every month and maybe more if I feel like it but I don't intend to go overboard with the blogging.
If you would like to join me in my resolution, or have any thoughts on it, I'd love to hear it.
~Carma
1. Shift the focus from "What can I buy to make my family" to "What can I do to make my family happy?" Marketing has done a good job of convincing us that happiness comes in a box. This causes us to pull out our wallets whenever there is a problem or dissatisfaction with life. Countless studies have shown that this actually makes our problems worse and that a focus on non-material things will bring more enduring happiness.
2. Conserve resources. It is ridiculous that in our "going green" craze people have been convinced that going green involves buying more things. For things that are used up frequently- cleaning supplies and such its a good idea, but surely we understand that we have to weigh how much more efficient the new product is to the old one (say a washing machine) against how much energy and resources went into making the new product. Beyond this, as an excessive consumer, I have realized that I have more stuff than I need and I keep buying more. This demand I create for unessential items puts a strain on our environment as our precious resources are used to create all of that junk.
3. Become more globally aware and responsible. This reason is certainly debatable and complicated and I hope to contemplate on it more over the year.
There are great inequalities in the world. Excessive consumerism in the US seems to perpetuate this a little. Yes, we are buying goods from other countries, thus giving them an economic livelihood. We also demand that our products be cheap, so we can buy more things. Our demand to have it all means we have forsaken our native manufacturing plants in favor of the pennies-a-day labor of other countries. Certainly there are a lot of Americans that could use a job these days. In addition to this, while we are supplying jobs to other countries that need them, the wages earned for these jobs ensure a life of poverty by American standards. How would all of this change if we bought less and accepted a higher price tag for more globally responsible products? Yes, this messes with pure capitalism a little and supply and demand. However, what if the demand in a market driven economy included a desire for social responsibility? We could still get the lowest price for living wage produced products- it would just cost more than we are used to today. Global economics is not one of my strong suits and I intend to read up on the issue and I welcome input from others on this matter.
This year is intended to be an extreme solution to my over-consuming instincts. I understand very well that if everyone in the US stopped buying anything new for an entire year we would have a lot of serious problems (although I can't imagine that ever happening). I'm not saying this is an answer to all of my problems and the world's. I do know that looking at the situation from this extreme vantage point will help me to contemplate things more clearly and hopefully do a great deal to bring my family closer together and de-clutter my life.
The choices I make concerning this resolution will be guided by the reasons I have listed above and I will post updates around the first of every month and maybe more if I feel like it but I don't intend to go overboard with the blogging.
If you would like to join me in my resolution, or have any thoughts on it, I'd love to hear it.
~Carma
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