Stuff, so much stuff, why do humans need so much stuff? Whether we have a place to put it or actually use it up, people perpetually buy more stuff. When homes become filled, we park outside, when garages reach their limits, we rent a unit, further expensing our mountains of stuff. Storage rents often exceeding the value of what's stored inside.

The perishable items we purchased while hungry, collect in our refrigerators, cupboards, and pantries until we finally throw them out. Supplements and medications cover kitchen tables and counters in our hopes of miracles. Magazines, piled in corners, show us what to wear, have, wish for, and buy next. Doodads fill junk drawers and trinkets cover shelves, reminding of the need to dust. And collecting shoes is no longer just for women; many men can't see the closet floor either. What is motivating people to spend their hard earned money, and/or increase their debt, on stuff with little actual purpose or need? Has the goal of human life become simply possessing an overwhelming amount of stuff?

Food for Thought

My Grandmother loved to tell tales of yesteryears. Stories of market crashes, wars, the great depression, and walking miles through rain and snow to get to school, quite certain times and our lives were improving. Grandad seemed to have more to say about the present, always complaining about progress and the constant need to modernize, and often stating "they just don't make 'em like they used to" when new products did not measure up to antique counterparts. I listened, thinking Grams told tall tales and Gramps was just grumpy.

My career driven parents had made modern living look easy. Though desires were not always granted, us kids did our part, learning about the domestic chores a household requires. College was expected, funds set aside for years. But, by the time I received University degree, not only had my personal ideas of finance been altered, but those of our society as well. My interpretations of modern living shifted into a realm untraveled, one lacking correlation to earlier experiences.

Today, I know that an education won't land you a job and paychecks will rarely be enough, and why I needed to tell my children, 'clean your plate' or 'be grateful to have a winter coat', realizing meeting current needs difficult and could have been much harder for my grandmother. Now I even remind the grandkids to take care of their toys and not to wiggle in their chairs, as I recognize how products have been further cheapened than even those in grandads day.

Education and experience has taught me human desire and acquisition are required for a capitalistic and industrialized society's economic growth. The concept of reaching and maintaining a middle class lifestyle is to buy more, have more, get less, and store or throw much of it away. 

In my grandmother's day, if she could afford to buy a loaf of bread, she knew it fed the baker's family too. If she could save enough to purchase a pair a shoes for my mother, she knew the cobbler's kids would have shoes as well. Grandad recognized the lack of regard for the consumer in new products and would not have been able to conceive the idea of planned obsolescence. Commerce and economics used to structure communities and provide livelihoods, when pride and competition delivered quality products, generating a beneficial revenue stream for workers as people modernized.

Instead of thinking in terms of today's rising prices due to tariffs, think about making local purchases and minimizing your consumption of foreign goods. Instead of thinking about inflation and the increasing prices for consumer products, think about controlling your own economy by reducing overall consumption for a better world. And the next time you read about the possibility of a recession, remember, this century's economists and politicians contrive the illusions of material prosperity, while you await a few coins to trickle down.

                                                                                -Jessie

Check out past seasons in archives for more Food for Thought