#58 The Big Addiction
Imagine the old temperance fighters, denouncing drink in the strongest
language they could find: There is a great evil abroad in our land. It
coarsens the spirit, deadens the soul. It threatens the health and
stability of the family and leads our youth astray. As surely as night
follows day, it will destroy the lives of all who give over their will and
succumb to its lures.
There is indeed a great evil abroad in our land. More dangerous by far than
alcohol, it is the evil of materialism. The meaning and power are being
sucked out of countless lives and replaced with stuff. Our loved ones are
being snatched away into some kind of a demonic cult, being brainwashed into
worshiping Mammon, blindly seeking salvation through the latest fashion or
newest model. Yet there are more people in this cult than outside of it.
Like the worst horror movie, our whole society is becoming possessed.
Consumption is running amok. Many of us identify as consumers because it’s
hard to find meaning in our role as producers. But an empty substitute is a
dangerous thing. Just as fascination with pornography is a passive,
addictive, and ultimately unfulfilling substitute for intimacy, so is
fascination with consumption a passive, addictive, and ultimately
unfulfilling substitute for being present to the challenges and
opportunities of the world around us. We’re stuffing ourselves, and keep
reaching for more, because we’re starving for the real thing.
It is true that alcohol and drugs do more immediate and visible damage.
They can destroy lives more quickly and completely. And the solution is
simpler: you just stop. This addiction to stuff is tricky, because some
amount of material goods, like some amount of food, and some amount of work,
actually make life better. We can’t go completely cold turkey, the way you
can with alcohol and drugs, and be hopeful that beyond the pain of
withdrawal a better world is waiting.
This is an addiction that gets into our blood without us even realizing. So
just starting to notice the signs is an important first step toward
regaining control.
--When that little rush of good feeling that comes with buying something
makes me want more, I am addicted.
--When shopping or consuming entertainment seem like the best solution to a
certain flatness in life, when nothing else seems interesting, I am duped
and deluded.
--When a clever advertisement has me reaching for my wallet, I am
manipulated.
--When being without a certain item makes me feel vulnerable, isolated, less
sure of myself, or left behind, I am imprisoned.
--When I feel compelled to acquire or consume, I am enslaved.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. This is not just a harmless habit or an
occasional lapse of judgment. It is certainly not rational and free choice.
We’re talking about our whole society being duped and deluded, manipulated,
drugged and addicted, imprisoned and enslaved—-and most of us don’t even
know it.
While not all purchases are a sign of addiction, we need to start thinking
of any place that sells things as a place of seduction. To armor yourself
against its siren call, before entering any supermarket, mall, home
improvement store, on-line shopping site, box office, or entertainment
center, take the time to remember:
I am completely beautiful in the eyes of God.
Nothing this place sells has the power to change who I am.
The soul cannot be fed by snacks, clothing or gadgets.
The comfort that comes from things is fleeting at best.
It’s possible to play and relax without professional help.
Precious moments cannot be bought or sold.
Enough is enough.
It’s time for a new Declaration of Independence—-independence from anything
that somebody makes a buck off of trying to sell us. It’s time to take back
control of our choices, time to assert that enough is better than more, time
to reclaim the value of activity outside the marketplace, time to decide for
ourselves what gives life meaning.
July, 2007
Some things that have given me hope recently:
Chinese citizens of a coastal city circumventing a media blackout by using
cell phones that generated a million text messages around the country, and
successfully forced the government to put plans for a polluting
petro-chemical plant on hold.
A group of inner city youth who have been turned on to energy conservation
and constructing solar panels.
300 people listening intently to one member with a severe speech
impediment--and a good point.
The sense of hope and unity, however fleeting, that came from Iraq's soccer
win in the Asia Cup.
language they could find: There is a great evil abroad in our land. It
coarsens the spirit, deadens the soul. It threatens the health and
stability of the family and leads our youth astray. As surely as night
follows day, it will destroy the lives of all who give over their will and
succumb to its lures.
There is indeed a great evil abroad in our land. More dangerous by far than
alcohol, it is the evil of materialism. The meaning and power are being
sucked out of countless lives and replaced with stuff. Our loved ones are
being snatched away into some kind of a demonic cult, being brainwashed into
worshiping Mammon, blindly seeking salvation through the latest fashion or
newest model. Yet there are more people in this cult than outside of it.
Like the worst horror movie, our whole society is becoming possessed.
Consumption is running amok. Many of us identify as consumers because it’s
hard to find meaning in our role as producers. But an empty substitute is a
dangerous thing. Just as fascination with pornography is a passive,
addictive, and ultimately unfulfilling substitute for intimacy, so is
fascination with consumption a passive, addictive, and ultimately
unfulfilling substitute for being present to the challenges and
opportunities of the world around us. We’re stuffing ourselves, and keep
reaching for more, because we’re starving for the real thing.
It is true that alcohol and drugs do more immediate and visible damage.
They can destroy lives more quickly and completely. And the solution is
simpler: you just stop. This addiction to stuff is tricky, because some
amount of material goods, like some amount of food, and some amount of work,
actually make life better. We can’t go completely cold turkey, the way you
can with alcohol and drugs, and be hopeful that beyond the pain of
withdrawal a better world is waiting.
This is an addiction that gets into our blood without us even realizing. So
just starting to notice the signs is an important first step toward
regaining control.
--When that little rush of good feeling that comes with buying something
makes me want more, I am addicted.
--When shopping or consuming entertainment seem like the best solution to a
certain flatness in life, when nothing else seems interesting, I am duped
and deluded.
--When a clever advertisement has me reaching for my wallet, I am
manipulated.
--When being without a certain item makes me feel vulnerable, isolated, less
sure of myself, or left behind, I am imprisoned.
--When I feel compelled to acquire or consume, I am enslaved.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. This is not just a harmless habit or an
occasional lapse of judgment. It is certainly not rational and free choice.
We’re talking about our whole society being duped and deluded, manipulated,
drugged and addicted, imprisoned and enslaved—-and most of us don’t even
know it.
While not all purchases are a sign of addiction, we need to start thinking
of any place that sells things as a place of seduction. To armor yourself
against its siren call, before entering any supermarket, mall, home
improvement store, on-line shopping site, box office, or entertainment
center, take the time to remember:
I am completely beautiful in the eyes of God.
Nothing this place sells has the power to change who I am.
The soul cannot be fed by snacks, clothing or gadgets.
The comfort that comes from things is fleeting at best.
It’s possible to play and relax without professional help.
Precious moments cannot be bought or sold.
Enough is enough.
It’s time for a new Declaration of Independence—-independence from anything
that somebody makes a buck off of trying to sell us. It’s time to take back
control of our choices, time to assert that enough is better than more, time
to reclaim the value of activity outside the marketplace, time to decide for
ourselves what gives life meaning.
July, 2007
Some things that have given me hope recently:
Chinese citizens of a coastal city circumventing a media blackout by using
cell phones that generated a million text messages around the country, and
successfully forced the government to put plans for a polluting
petro-chemical plant on hold.
A group of inner city youth who have been turned on to energy conservation
and constructing solar panels.
300 people listening intently to one member with a severe speech
impediment--and a good point.
The sense of hope and unity, however fleeting, that came from Iraq's soccer
win in the Asia Cup.
posted by Pamela Haines | 11:39 AM
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