We oppose the shopping culture, and so we must deal with the unseeable part of the sale.
With Consumerism the system, there are always levels of secrecy behind the flash. When Steve Jobs gets up on the stage he is our modern magician, but he conceals a vast sweatshop empire that is kept out of sight - until last month when the 12th suicide this year at one Chinese facility finally stopped his iPad cold. He was forced to insist that the iPad is not made in sweatshops, and began to define the term absurdly, comparing his factories with California high schools. OUR FACTORIES ARE NOT SWEATSHOPS, he said, and as weird as his explanation was - his "sweatshop" seemed an objectively defined entity with a panel of experts to absolve him.
"Facts" are Consumerism's best cover-up. A really misleading ad campaign always has, somewhere nearby, its logical apologist: the Expert. It's the magician's razzle-dazzle that hides the rabbit under the table. The facts as processed by corporations have night-vision for our intuition, our common sense, our love of chance and mystery - these old-fashioned practices that leave us purchasing products too slowly, maybe even thoughtfully, maybe not at all.
It is "facts" that tilt and spin and somersault all the way to climate change denial. We say No! But we are defenseless if scientific studies are our only defense. Lobbyists and experts working for CO-2 emitting energy, like Big Coal, insist that the facts are incomplete, more facts are needed. What? Something in our indigenous past stirs in us - can this be the time to sit on our hands? Isn't the Earth speaking directly to us in a language more alive than "facts?"
America has enjoyed for so long what it saw as an obedient Earth. That is, the Earth was made unseeable behind a wall of facts which we manipulate like Steve Jobs' suicide math. Our "western frontier," our "American freedom" - are spaces curved by facts for our gullible consumption. Now we are watching the tsunamis and tornadoes and ash clouds and oil spills and rising seas - escaping through the wall of facts. The Earth is surfacing, the sky and soil touching again. The Earth is breaking through and taking a deep breath.
Some of us are waiting for a signal that there will be a post-consumption future. We would like to cooperate with this greater force, the life of the Earth. We are hearing such a signal from the Appalachian Mountains, the oldest mountains in this hemisphere, some 280 million years old. About 500 of these mountains have been blown up in the coal-mining process called Mountaintop Removal, or "MTR."
The biggest financier of MTR is currently the Swiss bank UBS, which is a famous practitioner of secrecy and spinning facts. UBS is the perfect final magician of Consumerism, in a showdown with the oldest mountains. The bank plans to blow up the mountains invisibly. We won't notice. The marketers will make MTR a war movie for American's freedom from Arab oil, with experts firing "facts" at the activists. The Earth, however, has seen Mountaintop Removal. The Earth sees the whole thing.
If you've never experienced the CDC's Evolving Map of Obesity Rates, then do yourself a favor and check it out. The graphs are simple: a color-coded maps that get updated every year. Yet the ugly truth revealed is harrowing: Obesity rates that would have been considered unimaginably high as recently as the 80s would now be considered unattainably low. Each year the situation deteriorates. We are barreling headfirst into a health nightmare. 2008 was the worse year on record with 6 states having obesity rates above 30%.
Our economy may be collapsing, but as the holidays approach we still feel compelled to exchange gifts with friends and family. Some folks enjoy the quest for the perfect gift, but for those of us who haven't got a lot of time, money, or imagination, schlepping around town hunting down thoughtful presents for our loved ones can be an angst-ridden errand.
The pressure to please collides with our limited resources, and the ensuing wreckage litters living rooms all over America on Christmas morning with mounds of stuff we have no use for. Oh, sure, there are the happy exceptions--the book you've been dying to read, the cordless drill that you actually needed--but all too often we find ourselves sincerely saying "oh, you shouldn't have".
So what happens to the sweater you don't really like, or the cheesy fondue set you'll never use? Sometimes you give it away, but other times you let it stick around and clutter up your life, because it's a symbol of someone's affection for you.
And then you die, and somebody has to go through all the crap you accumulated over your lifetime. For me, it was my mother's things; she died unexpectedly a few years back and my father delegated the depressing task of sorting out all her clothes and bric-a-brac to me, her only daughter.
Some of my fellow Kossacks got their knickers in a twist the other day over the news that David Gregory's set to become the new host of NBC's Meet The Press. Why the outrage? Well for one thing, they can never forgive Gregory for dancing with the devil, aka "MC" Rove. Plus, as one unkind Kossack noted, "I think he looks like he's from Planet Of The Apes" (admittedly, the photos offered as evidence made a compelling case).
I've tried to put myself in the shoes of the Long Island lemmings who stomped the life out of Jdimytai "Jimbo" Damour in their rampage to ring up a bargain, but I just can't seem to fit into their frenzied footwear. Black Friday--this travesty of a tradition of dashing out the door to score a discounted tv or dvd player before you've even begun to digest your Thanksgiving dinner--is a sign of how badly we need to heed the Reverend Billy and seek salvation at the Church of Stop Shopping.
(Mazhira Black is a Young People For Fellow finishing her final day interning with Living Liberally. Good luck back in Waco, Texas, this year!)
Are you concerned that your free-thinking tyke will forget his liberal roots this fall in the classroom? Why not equip her with all of the essential back to school items that a liberal pupil needs? When you're bombarded with ads telling you what type of parent you are if you don't shop at Walmart to buy your kid the newest Hannah Montana threads or what sugary fruit drink you should pack in their lunch it can be easy to get lost in the crowd.
Better World Shopper is a great resource for finding companies that are environmentally and socially responsible. They rank companies based on their involvement in human rights, the environment, animal protection, community involvement, and social justice. Their rankings are sure to help you find what you need for your kids' back to school needs and beyond.
For a new back to school wardrobe be sure to head to Patagonia, a leader in environmental responsibility and an outspoken ally for environmental policy. Patagonia also has backpacks which are designed for your student's busy schedule. Another clothing option that has more of a personal feel is Garden Kids Clothing, they offer organic options for kids.
For back to school kicks New Balance is committed to American assembled union made products free from child labor.
For you dorm dwellers out there you may want to consider bamboo sheets for your arrival on campus this fall, they not only come from a replenishable natural resource that doesn't require pesticides, they are hypoallergenic, antibacterial, wick away moisture, AND they're super soft! Bed Bath & Beyond offers a relatively cheap set of these sheets. Drawback: they don't come in that extra long twin size the dorms love to stick you with. There are some small online places to get the same sheets, these tend to cost a lot more and you can't feel the sheets before buying them.
If you're worried about what to pack for your child's lunch, it turns out that peanut butter and jelly, the classic mainstay, is pretty great for the environment, in addition to being delicious. Seth discusses the craze PB&J Campaign that is sweeping the nation in a previous post.
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Liberal Lifecycle Lesson