consumption

It seems I'm not the only one concerned by the current global call to consume more in order to save ourselves. Courtesy of Eilleen at Consumption Rebellion I found Make Wealth History. At a glance, the site looks like an invitation to analyse our values and choices. In light of the Wal-Mart worker crushed to death by 2000 determined bargain hunters in New York on Friday, it would behove us to examine our consumption habits, both as a society and as individuals.

This one in particular caught my eye:



Another thoughtful consideration of our consumption habits and their consequences for the planet is found in the Story of Stuff. This punchy little film has been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it before it's well worth a look.

On a personal note, my little maglite torch stopped working. I tried several sets of batteries with no result and decided the bulb must have blown. When I went to the hardware store and asked for a new bulb he told me they are impossible to source, I'll have to buy a new torch. I don't want to be (much of) a consumer, but the whole system makes it almost impossible not to fall into it. I might try and claw my way out by purchasing one of these instead...

topsy turvy

What a crazy, crazy world hey. When I got up this morning I checked the news on the internet (because I somehow got into this crazy habit of checking my personal email and other websites of interest before I head to work). There was some news about people being shot in Mumbai but my eyes slid right past it because I can't deal with all the shootings and bombings which daily bombard my eyes and ears so I filter them all out and head on over to the entertainment news, because we all want to know that Madonna and Guy Ritchie have both moved on to new relationships don't we?

I stepped into my car and tuned into Radio National Breakfast, only to discover I could not escape Mumbai. This wasn't your average, garden variety shooting in Iraq or Afghanistan, but a big deal simultaneous attack on high profile locations around the city. Another terrorist affair by all accounts. (How sad that I am no longer shocked by tragic news from Iraq)

I really want to block this out of my mind. The last thing I want to hear about is another bunch of fanatical people exercising their rights to the point of destroying the lives of those who hold a different view. This is abhorrant to me, and since it seems to be happening all around me with increasing frequency I am overwhelmed by horror. My best defence mechanism has become a dance of avoidance - ignore the events, avoid the pain.

Unfortunately avoiding one sad tale (if that is possible) propels me right into the arms of another. Let's see. What else is going on at the moment? Oh, that's right... an economic crisis. What appals me about this is the straw we have built our society upon. We are in trouble because of excessive lending and exceeding our incomes. The solution? Get out there and spend more money to stimulate the economy! Hello?? Wasn't over spending a contributing factor here? How can our whole society be so geared for consumption that we must consume more in order to dig ourselves out of our financial hole? Madness.

What was that about Madonna and Guy? Or Gordon Ramsey and his alleged affair? And isn't Amy Winehouse back in hospital? Give me this trite, inconsequential fluff please... drown out the madness. Oh... that's all madness too?

I just can't deal with how empty, hateful, shallow, violent and selfish we are. (And then I looked in the mirror! Ha) We need a messiah I think. Save us from this mess.