Love, joy, peace and goodwill to man (and woman). These are the words and phrases that sprawl across our holiday banners, flags and little plush snowmen holding rustic-looking wooden signs. And these are the things that fill our thoughts as we take time to appreciate the “true meaning” of Christmas and the holidays in general, right? I think on the whole that is true, but sometimes, it gets lost in the stuff.
Let me be the first to admit, sometimes my thoughts sound more like: “Geez, what on earth should I get my dad, I never know what to get him … a cutting board, no, I got that for him two years ago. A travel toiletries kit? No, he just shoves his toothbrush and deodorant in the side pocket. A wallet? Does he even care if I get him anything?? I’m not so sure he does … Oh and I need to get some new twinkle lights because the ones I bought last year don’t work all of a sudden, and I’m just not an electrician so I…” and on and on. But then all of a sudden I’m stopped by the question that pops into my head — “What is of this for, anyway?” — and I am reminded of the extent to which our consumer culture has permeated my being.
We’ve all heard it before. You’ve witnessed it in your own personal life (to varying degrees, I’m sure), but we, as a society, are addicted to stuff. Just plain and simple: stuff.
This fact is never as clear to me as around the holidays when I (often) have to put a stop the aforementioned ramble in my head telling me that I need more of it. I must say I’m curious to know how others are feeling this year about the dualistic nature of the upcoming holiday. That is to say, love and stuff.
What happened to the good old days of spendthrift and save? The days of purchasing only the necessities, minus all the useless packaging (and let’s not even get into the whole thing about gift-wrapping, that gem of a tradition) or even better, making the gifts we gave? In fact, it wasn’t so long ago that endless consumerism wasn’t our reality. Just half a century ago, the average American consumed 50 percent less than the average person does today. This statistic, as mentioned in Annie Leonard’s pointed short film, “The Story of Stuff” (Google it), makes me think of my grandma. She used to entertain my brother and me during our stays for the holidays with some homemade play-dough and a box of household scraps that she wouldn’t throw away but just save for crafts. How I loved those afternoons! “Everything in moderation” was her all-time motto, and she stuck to it. Have we lost that balance and became a society of excess? It certainly feels that way to me.
“The Story of Stuff” lays out the sad-but-true scenario of a country that has been pushed purposefully into wastefulness and excess by way of large corporations and social conditioning stemming largely from near-constant advertising in the media. We’ve been made to believe that our value as people lies in how much we consume and that our personalities are defined by the clothes, cars and things we buy. Americans constitute just 5 percent of the world’s population but use 30 percent of the natural resources and 24 percent of total energy consumption. So let’s admit it; we’re spoiled rotten.
As Martin Luther King Jr. befittingly said in 1967, “We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered … A nation can flounder as readily in the face of moral and spiritual bankruptcy as it can through financial bankruptcy.” Pretty insightful coming from a guy speaking nearly a decade before the first consumer computers hit the market. I’m left pondering the notion of whether it is possible that this consumer culture of ours has left the citizens as the victims; economically exploited and both morally and financially bankrupt?
I sure hope not. And I certainly haven’t given up on “U.S.” But when will we realize collectively that our system is not working nor can it continue on like this for much longer? I know that everyone is focused on finals right now (I wish you guys luck!), but as we return home, let us bear in mind the true nature of the holiday: love. Not the kind of love a Zales diamond ring or a new iPod supposedly bring, but the kind that stems from a respect for the life that we’ve been given somehow and the wonderful people we’ve been blessed to have in our lives. I’ve been thinking hard about my New Year’s Resolution, and although I haven’t fully landed on one yet, I know it’s going to have something to do with more love and (significantly) less stuff. Happy holidays everyone, may your love abound.
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