This rant was triggered firstly by watching the documentary video from http//storyofstuff.com/ well worth the watch if you want to understand consumerism better.
Secondly it was triggered when I felt an urge to respond to Annie. What is below is currently exactly as I wrote it.
Thanks for a great and fun video. The free-range guys did a super job.
This mail is now about an answer it is more about questioning our answers. I felt moved to express to you, why, I don’t know. Have fun…
You are completely correct, consumerism is not sustainable except at ever increasing cost to the planet and finally the people who live on it.
I think the fundamental issue here is really what is this system based on? Most people think they go to work to make money, which they do, but would they be happy if they had tons of money but couldn’t do anything with it? No! The money needs to be spent, on “stuff” so that we can feel valuable and content.
This is the lie, no matter how much you buy or how many weapons you amass you will never feel content or secure because “Fear” is the fundamental comodity being sold and what all the stuff is made of.
What you say applies to our monetary system (based on debt), education (based on force, co-oercion, making it aka Fear), defence (de-fence 🙂 clearly all the terrorists will get us if we don’t get them first), healthcare (dis-ease, death, fear), absolutely every sphere of life. Treating the problem as Einstein so aptly put it “You cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that created it!” will only lead to further issues.
This even applies to industries that seem to be part of the solution, very often they are not. I’m wondering here abou the sustainability of stealing wind, ocean, geothermal and solar energy from a system that we don’t don’t grasp. Right now it seems clever but so did fossil fuels, DDT etc etc.
“Treating symptoms pays!” and not just for the drug companies, governments but for every human being, we all treat symptoms somewhere in our lives. Treating symptom’s assures us all of a place and re-curring customers and gives us a sense of value.
The real issue you are talking about is that nearly every single system, job, ideal, religion, belief, government, we have is based on some fear.
Whilst in that state we will only continue to “fight for peace”.
“Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!” Anon
Warfare = Rawfear
Fear = Fare as in cost “and” as in benefit
Chief Seattle “we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” or in complete form “Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”