In the news today is a story about retail chains shutting down and going through severe downsizing. Perhaps we don't need to be looking at this as an economic horror. When I say it's a whole new world out there today, I'm not just talking about how America treats it's fellow inhabitants of the Earth or whether or not we torture. This new world will be had through personal change as well. Us western human beings have GOT to put down our addiction to consumerism and begin showing some restraint and a respect for the resources of the world. As long as Americans, who are a small minority of the world's population, are consuming a vast majority of the world's resources, we're going to continue being a gluttonous scourge upon the Earth. We gotta stop. That doesn't mean we can't dress nice, but do we really need 257 outlets for high priced fashion? Hell no. That doesn't mean you've gotta buy that cheap ass made-in-China shit from Wal-MArt, it just means we don't need the $195 shirt from Abercrombie-Fitch or Eddie Bauer. Let em close down. Spend less buy locally. Hell, I could employ a local tailor to make my shirts for a lot less than some places charge and a big chunk of my money would go into a local market. It's interesting that I can go down to a local neighborhood electronics retailer and get the same deals or close that I get (used to) at Circuit City. Let em close down. I'll take my money and put it in a local merchant's pocket.
Have you visited your local farmer's market lately? Do you have a freezer? Spend less, buy locally. Spend less, buy in bulk and freeze or can.
We all need to cut back our spending. Sure, it'll be tough on the economy for a while. Some companies will adjust and others won't. Yea, it'll be tough for all of us. I've watched my small retirement savings dwindle to a shadow of what it was six months ago and had to take on some jobs outside the farm, so I know it's gonna be really rough on some folks. Sorry, but it's gotta happen.
Folks, stuff is not going to make you happy, fix your life or give you salvation. The only thing you have is the moment of now and right where you're standing. You can move, but you can't run from it. The now is always there. Embrace it, live in it, be a part of it. Stuff aint gonna get you nowhere.
Just in. . . brrrreaking news. . .
Yes, that seemingly insurmountable barrier has been broken. This morning the reading on the fat-o-meter was 209.6.
210, you can kiss my fat white ass.
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11 comments:
You wont' be able to say that soon! Enjoy it while you can. Next you'll have to say "kiss my white ass." :-D Keep it up!
While I have returned you to my blogroll because I just cain't quit you, I draw the line at ass-kissing regardless of size, color, or aroma. Okay, especially aroma. I buy locally whenever possible.
You may have something there Sagacious. Take the number one employer in West Virginia and run them out of the state. Then take the number two employer the Department of Education, give them more money for better teachers, cut out the family clicks and the test scores will go up.
Rainy, I'd love to run the #1 employer out of the state. That would be the State of WV gov't. After that, we could run the coal companies out of state and get on with moving ourselves and the country into the 21st Century.
Buzz, Ya just can't argue with reality. Sooner or later. . .
Laurel, I've never enjoyed a fat ass, mine or others. . . well, there was this plump little honey down in Texass once-upon-a-time. . .
"Spend less, buy locally." Wal-Mart continues to rank as West Virginia's largest employer followed by; WVU Hospitals, CAM Center, Kroger, CSX/Greenbrier, American Electric Power, Eldercare Resources Corp., Lowe's Home Centers Inc., St. Mary's Hospital, Consol and Mountaineer Park Inc.
We do seem to have ushered in an era of restraint and responsibility. Will it stick? I mean, once the economy rebounds (and it will), will we still do the right thing - spend less, buy locally? As gas prices have fallen, people have become less concerned with finding alternative energy sources... we are a fickle, childish country, Segacious. We do need to grow up.
But not out! Good for you and your sub-210 self!
Hey Sagacious, so true, so true, and the mantra of Kunstler, LAOTC, and many others. I think prices will jack up, however, (except for locally grown food) because WalMart, etc, can buy in bulk, and little places can't. The art of sewing might even return...
Kit, Wal-Mart can buy and sell cheaper than most local farmers can produce and sell. It's simple economics. When you're ADM or Birdeye producing veggies on a factory farm using all the latest technology both mechanical and chemical and doing it in third world countries or with no-cost migrant labor you can esily out price local farmers. Same with Tyson and Purdue. . . I sell my 100% organic pasture fed chickens for $20 each. Turkeys are $100. I still don't make a profit. If I go non-organic and use locally purchased feeds I would have to drastically lower my prices and then I'd lose money.
I can't blame regular folks for shopping at Wal-Mart. I sell all my birds to professional people who make enough money that they don't care how much good food costs.
That's my dilemma.
Excellent post Sagacious. I enjoy your blog by the way and wish you the best with your weight loss. I'm on a similar journey.
Two summers ago we visited Ghana which is a totally different world from here. We wondered how it was that everyone could afford to wear tailor made clothes when the people were clearly poorer than most here in the U.S. The amount of money it took you to buy clothes at the market(souvenirs that said "Ghana" on them) could easily be spent on 3 or 4 shirts or 2 dresses (material and work included). We realized that the economy there is still very, very local and there's no Target or Wal-Mart with cut-rate prices to drive the small business person out. I really enjoyed my time in Ghana and honestly wouldn't mind living there--the freshest fruit and vegetable and the most delicious honey and peanut butter. Making the switch to local commerce, walking everywhere, doing more of our own work (gardening, sewing, etc) would be difficult in the beginning but I think many of us would adapt and actually enjoy the simplicity of life much more than the complexity of stuff.
chi-chi, I agree 100%. There are lots of models for people to live in a community sense. Thanks for your Ghana story. Were you there on a quest?
We've got to start living differently but that will take a huge adjustment in attitude. People believe that standard of living is all about material bullshit. Until the world can be convinced that standard of living is not that, we're doomed to our present existence.
Human beings need to look within for their high standard of living instead of looking everywhere else for it to happen.
Glad you stopped by. Hope to see you again.
I don't care how many people save some pennies here and there (at the expense of American jobs), I haven't stepped foot in China*Mart in years and I don't ever intend to.
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