Use it up

Wear it out

Make it do

Or do without

I think we need to acknowledge that all is us, as a society, are somewhat complicit in where we are today. This is not about who you voted for, but for ultimately what we created through our spending. The only way corporations can be as big as they are today and to have the outsized influence they do is because we fed the monster. 

We bought into the marketing that said newer, more, better, faster, shinier, cooler, different, easier, and fancier was what was going to make our lives happier and less stress free in order to have time to do fulfilling activities and cultivate our relationships. 

Has it?

Are we happier? Do we have closer relationships? Do we have easier, less stress-filled lives? Not from where I sit. Even before the continuing coup, I saw people who were nearly frozen with stress and anxiety. People who never had time to do what they really wanted to do. People who mourned relationships that no one had time for. And the remedy, according to big business, was to buy yet one more thing to fill those voids. I don't find myself having to sit through commercials very often, but this is truly the underlying message to every single one of them. Your life stinks right now, but we can make it better if you buy our_____. 

Science actually has a pretty good idea of what makes for secure, healthy, and positive humans: living above subsistence wages, having close family and friend connections whom one sees frequently (face to face), helping others, and doing, making, and/or creating things oneself. It's not actually that complicated. Or expensive. 

By buying into the lie that happiness can be purchased if only we buy enough as fast as we can, we have sold our collective souls to commercialism and instant gratification. We have all tacitly agreed to participate in a disposable culture which doesn't take the time or care to make things that can be repaired. The cost has been exceedingly great. It might prove to be too great. 

I know I'm not alone in battling feelings of helplessness; everything feels incredibly overwhelming. But there is something we can do if we all work together. We can starve the corporate monster of it's vital need: our money. 

Now is the time to limit our purchases to what is necessary and when we do need to purchase, buying locally in-person or from a smaller, independently owned store. I realize very few of us can do this completely. There are things which do need to be bought in order for life to function. But think carefully about where that line is. Ask yourself do I really need this? Could I use something else I already have? Can I repair it? Can I barter with someone else for it? Can I go in with others to share it? 

Without our money, the monster will begin to starve, but we have to do it together. Step 1 is the economic blackout this Friday. Buy nothing. If you must buy use cash and shop at small businesses. Using your credit card enriches the corporations which own them. 

A one day blackout is not going to ruin any large company, but if enough participate, it will be a wakeup call to exactly how extensive the anger against the current coup runs. And it can also be a harbinger of a much larger economic blackout to come. We can do this, but we must work together. Cooperativeness is anathema to dictators because there is power in numbers.

And to my readers and friends who do not reside in the US. I'm sorry. I'm sorry our would be dictators are choosing to side with the bad guys. I'm sorry your own safety feels on shaky ground as a result. Please, do not purchase anything from a US company until we clean our house. Please, if you can avoid it, do not visit the US. Starving the corporations from foreign revenues is equally important. And know a great many of us do not agree with a single thing our so-called government is doing. 

I have already cancelled Amazon Prime not will I be shopping with Amazon. I have several others stores that I have stopped shopping at as well. I lived for decades without having my purchase arrive in two days and I can do it again... will do it again. And that's not a bad thing.