Before I proceed I want to make it clear that I do not feel superior to anyone with a view that differs from mine. I will be quite critical of some people, but this is to bring a topic to light that is important to me and is something I hope you think about from another's perspective.
I hate America's consumer culture. I feel most companies care far more about their bottom line and making more money than caring about the people who purchase their products. When you are forced to make decisions to pay out shareholders it often leads to money being more highly valued than people.
Needing the newest products to make our lives better is so ingrained into our DNA that we need to make a conscious effort to realize this is happening. Turn on the TV for ten minutes or open a magazine and what do you see? The newest cars, beauty products, jewelry and clothes. They are marketed toward us with the promise of more sex appeal, more fun, more leisure time and everything in between.
How many times have we changed the channel only to see a new infomercial that we first laugh at, then we realize we could use it, then we must have it and not only do we get that product, but if we call now they will give us a bonus product for four easy payment of $19.99? And how many of us have infomercial product gathering dust in our closets and basements? Maybe 5-10% of these infomercial products make it into our daily lives
I'm not faulting advertising companies, because I understand they are a necessary part of most businesses. What I do dislike is when people become more interested in upgrading their more than adequate iPhone and at the same time do not have a care in the world for others who are facing life and death decisions while we are here in our little advertising bubble.
I love that people can freely choose what they do with their money, but I believe that many people spend quite selfishly and do not take the time to look at what is far more important. Human lives. I think it would be beneficial to all people to visit a third world country. Not a resort sipping unlimited mai tai's, but to see the poverty that many live with and their daily struggle to survive
Many desperate people from these countries would jump for joy just to drink the tap water we have access to that many turn their noses up to. Because "only artisan water will do." I've witnessed with my own eyes young boys and girls filling jerry cans in Uganda with the dirtiest muckiest water because some sort of water is better than dehydration. I had the honor to help dig out some of the wells to make that dirty water clean with natural spring water flowing instead of the stagnant polluted water people were traveling to get. We rarely think twice about water. It's given away freely at restaurants and when people say they are "dying of thirst," it is almost always said in jest. Most of us don't know the struggle of walking miles to get our water.
When you see people living with one pair of clothes and sheet metal houses held together with sandal straps, it puts into perspective the blessings we have. But usually we give no thought to this. We likely have closets filled with clothes we haven't worn in years. So what do we do? Get more during Black Friday sales of course.
Until you witness true poverty, it is hard to not follow along with our consumerist society. This post isn't meant to make you feel bad, but to make you aware that when you look at the majority of the world, even those at poverty level in our country would be like kings in other countries. I hope that people will be thankful for their blessings instead of jealous about what they haven't yet acquired.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot - Joni Mitchell
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Well said @bendjmiller. A great reminder, thank you. Only tonight I was flicking through a catalogue that was handed to me in town today. I thought, ohh maybe I should get this new red kettle and matching red toaster and red microwave while I am at it. Then I paused and realised that I had all these things already and they worked just fine. It is SOOO easy to get sucked into advertising. You have to be conscious of it to fight it.
which shade of red? is it this years (choose any year) shade?
It is so easy. Every holiday has sales and candy and things to buy. For Christmas my family has decided to make each other gifts instead of spending money on more things. We have enough things. Probably far too many if I were to check the attic and basement and closets for things that haven't been used in years.
We like to use the money we would have spent on gifts for charities where we know the people personally and have visited to see their work. I don't want to sound like I'm putting myself on some sort of pedestal and everyone else should congratulate me or anything like that. I just think it's important to really analyze what we do with our money and whether we control it, or it controls us.
True things written here sir. We need more people thinkin' like you.
Yes. There is nothing wrong with enjoying money and treating yourself to some fun things and vacations and a cool car. But when our desire shifts from caring about people to caring about things, that's a big problem. There are many things I feel people would benefit from doing. Including spending time working in a restaurant. People need to realize that their side of bleu cheese is really not worth getting bent out of shape about. I haven't been a waiter, but have worked in a restaurant, and it is very high stress.
The other day a cook messed up our pizza order. My friend and I were both very understanding and while we didn't ask for it, the restaurant provided me with a beer on the house and some slices to take hope that I paid forward to some friends.
People in the restaurant business have lives and families and bad days just like we all do, but they have to try to smile and make your day better anyways. Granted there are some awful servers out there, but being courteous goes a long way to making someone's day better. Especially servers, because they take the most abuse for orders even if it was not their fault.
It's true of every profession. Treating others how you would want them to treat you whether they are janitors or ceo's is really not hard to do, but makes a world of difference.
I love this! I feel awful they have to go through so much just for water. Thats why I feel disgusted when I see people spending 200 or more on just a pair of shoes! I'm constantly saving and investing my money, Because I want to use it to help people. Yet so many people are just spending it on unnecessary items. In one of my posts I wrote about how each family home has at least 300,000 items! Imagine if we all had JUST HALF of that. And instead donated the money we had left over to charity? There would be a BIG difference in how people are living today!
Yes the way America is set up is when you go to buy a house or a car, they look at the maximum amount you could afford. They generally look at you like you are crazy if you tell them you want to spend less than you can.
I understand the appeal of nice clothes and I'm not here to say what people should or shouldn't do with their money. But just to keep in perspective how much we do have. When people are living on 50 cents a day working manual labor just to provide one meal for their family it should make us realize how good we have things.
Even minimum wage and lower jobs and people that live off food stamps are really far better off even though they live difficult lives and are often in areas where theft and drugs and violence are common.
If people visit some of these 3rd world countries they will be shocked to see how happy they often are. Who would have thought that having more stuff does not equate to more happiness. Some of the poorest people are willing to share what little they have and welcome you into their homes without ever having met you, but we (myself included) will often walk past a homeless person and pretend not to see them. When you have seen both perspectives, it makes you realize who the truly generous people are.
When we give our dollar or five dollars to red cross it's usually not a big sacrifice in our wallet. Maybe we go without coffee for a day. But when someone with next to nothing shares what little food they have with you it means they are sacrificing meals to welcome a guest, but they do so joyfully.
It saddens me to return from trips like these to see people spending thousands of dollars on a fur coat or a bottle of wine when I've just seen how much good a few quarters could do for a family who desperately needs it.
I hope to make more posts soon advocating some of the charities I have worked with and can verify that all funds are indeed going to what they say they are. Helping people makes me happy. Whether that's through my skills or creativity is unimportant. When I have the chance to do something to affect another's life in a positive way, as long as I am able to, I will gladly do it.
Good post that should receive way more upvotes.
TV has become the worst thing that happened to America. Constant bombardment of buy this it will make you cool, happy, important. Wow I sound like I'm 80 yrs old..haha.
It does provide jobs and it is a necessary evil, but I do hate what it does especially when it comes to elections. Instead of spending multimillions of dollars in advertising, why not use the money to fix up some broken neighborhoods or build parks or create programs for talented artists who have no real venue to create money where they are?
Social media will cover everything that gets done and they will still be able to participate in debates and travel, but the television ads and multiple signs and posters that amount to what I believe is wasted money could be used to actually help those who get lip service from those same politicians. Why not put the money where their mouth is? I know I'd vote for them in a heartbeat. Even if they were to lose, they would have tangible evidence of what they did to better many communities.
It kind of sickens me that both parties ask for money on tax returns. Regardless of your political stance, I don't think you will find too many people that feel either party spends money better than a six year old in a candy store with a candy store. Spend a lot and deal with the repercussions later.
Exactly!!! I'm surprised a politician hasn't used that angle. "Half of my campaign money has gone to rebuild XYZ city."
Far better use of money in my mind than case of Trump mugs or Hillary bumper stickers. It is almost laughable that these two are the best we had to nominate. A foolish secret keeper and a foot in his mouth bigot. Most other countries can sit back with some popcorn and enjoy the comedy of a catastrophe that this election is, but it's not so funny that one of these two will most likely be our figurehead.
I can't see a way that this election will turn anything around for the American people. It's picking a lesser of two evils unless Johnson gains more support and makes things interesting.
Yeah, It's been the lesser of two evils since 2004 in my opinion. Pretty sad. What I have learned (after stubbornly fighting it) is to learn the nonsensical rules and laws of these administrations and then work in a way that it benefits me.
Case and point. I posted an article here about the mutual funds industry and showed everyone how they can reduce the fees they are paying in their mutual funds/401(ks) by 1% based on newer rules and products and how that 1% adds up to over 100K over a your working career.
Of course no one freaking read it though. Ignorance is bliss I suppose :-)
Right on! I hate consumer culture also, that's why I live at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. You interested in coming for a visit? If so, I can help you work out a visit where you pay for your room and board with SMD.
I'm in a bit of debt to my parents for some foolish use of my money. I wrote about it here Confessions of An Online Gambler but would love to know more about this place if you can send a link.
www.dancingrabbit.org let me know if you have any questions!
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