I Consume Therefore I Am

From October 30, 2008

I'm struck by a disturbing idea after watching last night's Obama infomercial. The Democrats and Republicans both, in their unique ways, pretend to address the needs of all Americans. We go to war and muck up sovereign governments all over the world to make sure we get what we "need" to continue living the lifestyle we've become accustomed to since WWII. We've indebted ourselves to the point of drowning in that pursuit as well, making ourselves dependent and even subservient to other governments, mainly China. The world is a much more unstable place because of how we live our lives. Let's not delude ourselves into thinking otherwise.

So as credit evaporates and the world economy slides into an abyss for the foreseeable future, I think it's going to become painfully clear to many of us that there is no longer a market to satisfy every one of our needs.

What disturbs me is that no one is asking this question: In a culture for so long ruled simultaneously by having it all and never having enough, how do you even begin to measure need? As much as I'm in love with what Obama represents (fill in the blank yourself), I also have this feeling of dread that tells me we're all on this party train, rollin' down the tracks and doin' our fabulous American thing. Contrary to what we think we know, however, the world is actually flat and we're about to launch ourselves, blissfully unaware, over the edge and into freefall through nothingness. Ignorance is certainly bliss, but only until you find yourself falling through a void. Then you tend to shit your pants. And when an entire nation does it all at once, it's a really huge, stinky mess.