On consumerism and charity, part II.
Okay, so I'm watching the Today show just now (don't ask why I keep watching it. I don't know), and they're talking about "unique" gifts for the holidays. What sort of gifts, you ask? Oh, useless crap like cookies with photographs transferred onto them and personalized perfume bottles or children's books that incorporate photos of your child in them. Stuff like that. All of these "unique" gifts cost quite a bit of money, and there they are trying to encourage people to buy this junk.
I'm just wondering what someone does with a personalized firewood rack. I mean.. really. Or monogrammed decals that will stick on anything. Oh, wonderful! I shall label everything with my name using overpriced, glorified stickers.
I'm such a scrooge. But really! We encourage each other to spend ridiculous amounts of money during the holidays on stuff that is essentially junk. It's useless, expensive junk that serves no real purpose in our homes. It's stuff that ends up in garage sales.
I was watching Nightline last night, and they were talking about this new documentary called "What Would Jesus Buy?" It's by the guy that did Supersize Me. The anchor asked him, well, what would Jesus buy? And his response was, "I think Jesus would buy less and give more."
I couldn't agree more. Consumerism is ridiculous in this country now, especially at the holidays. I'm not saying don't buy presents, but for crying out loud, we act like if we don't get that perfect gift, that thing that our children/spouses/whatever really, really want, we are horrible people for not buying it, even if we can't afford it. Children are bombarded with advertisements for expensive games and electronics and cell phones that tell them they deserve these things, that they need these things.
Even adults are faced with this. Car commercials tell us that we need a Cadillac/Lexus/BMW, for no good reason. We're told that we can buy things now and not pay for them for six months, but they neglect to tell you that they're going to tack all the interest on when that time comes. We get things, objects, that put a burden on us for six months or even a year after the holidays because we're still paying for them. We torture ourselves waiting in lines and getting up at 3am to go find The Perfect Gift, and then, THEN, we rant and rave at the poor cashiers and employees who are working long hours and spending time away from THEIR families so that you can act like a spoiled brat.
And what for? Because businesses tell us that we have to.
Even giving to charities seems to be an attention-getter. I went to the grocery store yesterday, where they were evidently beginning another food drive, and there was a huge crowd of people in the parking lot. I got out of my car, confused, only to overhear a mother with her children say, "Hurry! Don't you want to be on the news?" As they dashed toward the food bank truck.
I was pretty disgusted by that. Great, lady, teach your kids that they should only do good things if it gets them on local TV. There were already tons of families there, all jumping up and down and waving at the cameras that were set up, though not filming yet. It made me feel sick to my stomach.
I overheard some customers at work talking about the food drive, and one of the women mentioned that they still needed to clean out their pantry. "We have some weird stuff we never ate, like hominy and stuff," she laughed. "I don't know why we bought it, it's pretty gross."
THEN WHY WOULD ANYONE ELSE WANT TO EAT IT?
Okay, now, I did give away some stuff we hadn't eaten, but it was stuff like rice-a-roni and extra spaghetti-- you know, actual food that could make a meal.
I just.. my mind is boggled by people who think that giving to charity consists of basically giving away stuff you don't want, or that doing good only matters if you are rewarded or recognized for it.
To paraphrase a quote from Futurama (shut up, sometimes they're profound): When you do the right thing, people won't realize that you've done anything at all.
I'm just wondering what someone does with a personalized firewood rack. I mean.. really. Or monogrammed decals that will stick on anything. Oh, wonderful! I shall label everything with my name using overpriced, glorified stickers.
I'm such a scrooge. But really! We encourage each other to spend ridiculous amounts of money during the holidays on stuff that is essentially junk. It's useless, expensive junk that serves no real purpose in our homes. It's stuff that ends up in garage sales.
I was watching Nightline last night, and they were talking about this new documentary called "What Would Jesus Buy?" It's by the guy that did Supersize Me. The anchor asked him, well, what would Jesus buy? And his response was, "I think Jesus would buy less and give more."
I couldn't agree more. Consumerism is ridiculous in this country now, especially at the holidays. I'm not saying don't buy presents, but for crying out loud, we act like if we don't get that perfect gift, that thing that our children/spouses/whatever really, really want, we are horrible people for not buying it, even if we can't afford it. Children are bombarded with advertisements for expensive games and electronics and cell phones that tell them they deserve these things, that they need these things.
Even adults are faced with this. Car commercials tell us that we need a Cadillac/Lexus/BMW, for no good reason. We're told that we can buy things now and not pay for them for six months, but they neglect to tell you that they're going to tack all the interest on when that time comes. We get things, objects, that put a burden on us for six months or even a year after the holidays because we're still paying for them. We torture ourselves waiting in lines and getting up at 3am to go find The Perfect Gift, and then, THEN, we rant and rave at the poor cashiers and employees who are working long hours and spending time away from THEIR families so that you can act like a spoiled brat.
And what for? Because businesses tell us that we have to.
Even giving to charities seems to be an attention-getter. I went to the grocery store yesterday, where they were evidently beginning another food drive, and there was a huge crowd of people in the parking lot. I got out of my car, confused, only to overhear a mother with her children say, "Hurry! Don't you want to be on the news?" As they dashed toward the food bank truck.
I was pretty disgusted by that. Great, lady, teach your kids that they should only do good things if it gets them on local TV. There were already tons of families there, all jumping up and down and waving at the cameras that were set up, though not filming yet. It made me feel sick to my stomach.
I overheard some customers at work talking about the food drive, and one of the women mentioned that they still needed to clean out their pantry. "We have some weird stuff we never ate, like hominy and stuff," she laughed. "I don't know why we bought it, it's pretty gross."
THEN WHY WOULD ANYONE ELSE WANT TO EAT IT?
Okay, now, I did give away some stuff we hadn't eaten, but it was stuff like rice-a-roni and extra spaghetti-- you know, actual food that could make a meal.
I just.. my mind is boggled by people who think that giving to charity consists of basically giving away stuff you don't want, or that doing good only matters if you are rewarded or recognized for it.
To paraphrase a quote from Futurama (shut up, sometimes they're profound): When you do the right thing, people won't realize that you've done anything at all.