I often tutor the spoiled offspring of these worldlings in their living or dining rooms.  Based on my experience I think this author is correct.  The "homes" I've worked in actually aren't homes, but merely buildings where the sme 4.1 sleep and consume 1/3 of their meals.  They have every amenity, but their antiseptic aura comes closer to that of a well-kept hospital waiting room than to a home.  

One common feature I've noted has been the professional-class kitchen that must cost $10K or more.  One mother who had such a kitchen invited me to stay for dinner with her child and family.  Seeing the cooking facilities available to her, I thought I was in for a treat, but we only had boiled noodles with spaghetti sauce.  A meal I could have cooked in the crummy, minuscule kitchen I share with three people I don't know!  She had access to a magnificent kitchen, but didn't know how to cook!  Apparently the kitchen was only a status symbol.  How this fits in with motherhood I can't fathom.

You would think with such wealth, they would at least know how to dress.  But the girls wear the most immodest of clothing.  (What I've been confronted with, I can't recount here, or this place would turn into Fisheaters.)  They are blissfully unaware that their dress is pathetically incongruous with the opulence that surrounds them, in addition to revealing that they have no concept of how to clothe themselves when a male stranger is present.  

I've seen a home that talks to you electronically as you walk in ("The door is open."), for security, of course.  I've seen a mother who has her kid on Ritalin, "because the school psych says he needs it," but doesn't think twice about allowing him almost continuous access to the internet, TV, DVDs, and video games.  He can't spell in the fourth grade, but he knows how to use MS Word far better than I do.  I can report that the norm among highschoolers is not to know how to identify the subject and verb of a sentence.  Yet they are taking a test on reading comprehension.  A fellow teacher of mine told me that two students of his, twin girls, were depressed because their birthday present from their parents was going to be delivered two weeks late.  The present was a pair of brand new Jeep Cherokees.  The girls' age was 16.  I have seen kids get picked up in Hummers.  I have seen a kid who could barely comprehend a paragraph get picked up in a Lamborghini.  In one of the textbooks we use, some vocabulary words happen to be "contrition," "austerity," and "remorse."  It is rare that even one of the 12 students in the typical class knows even one of these words.  Who could blame them, when they've never been told that they have anything to be contrite about?  There's more, but I'll spare you.

I'll admit that the article was an interesting read, and it did point out a lot of the problems that many of us are currently facing.  Yet, I have to ask, what are the solutions to these problems?  How can we overcome our addiction to consumerism?

Not all of us can "flee to the fields" or even attempt to grow enough food on our properties to support a household.  So, what do we do?  We jump in our cars and go to the SUPERmarket (which is typically open 24/7) in order to load up on pre-packaged food (which should last about 10+ years, despite what the labels say).  How to get out of this cycle?  *Shrug.*

Pinoy Monk

I'll try to answer your question --

First, I would say that there is a difference between buying your food from a supermarket, and buying into "consumerism".

Consumerism is all about buying more stuff than you need, buying on a whim, spending more money than you have, wasting money and other resources (throwing away and buying new), and in general it means going completely against what Catholics know as the "spirit of poverty".

The spirit of poverty means A) not getting to attached to material things, especially to the point that they dominate your thoughts, and B) taking good care of the things you have. Part of B) is not wasting something that still has value. Garage sales are a VERY Catholic phenomenon (though I admit I don't know the history of garage sales) because A) items are getting more use and B) someone is able to save money.

So if you only buy what you need -- food, shelter, clothing, and what is necessary to maintain those -- you can hardly be called materialistic. The economy is NOT going to boom if everyone did that. When they say that 2/3 of the economy is fueled by consumer spending, they're talking about BIG MONEY and luxuries: cars, vacations, boats, you name it.

As for the food issue, the more food you can grow yourself, the better. There is an excellent book called "Square Foot Gardening" which I bought on Amazon.com for 50 cents (plus $3 shipping). I learned SO much by reading it, I would recommend it to anyone! The book has sold literally millions of copies, and is probably the most popular gardening book there is. See if your library has it. He really has a system that takes all the hassle, anguish, and depression out of gardening. I am working as we speak to convert MY backyard to use his system (4' X 4' plots, divided into 1 foot squares) I am collecting materials to mix up his special soil mixture, etc. Did you know you can grow stuff on a patio, balcony, or rooftop? He has everything covered.

But even the food you need to buy should at least come from a local source. Farmers Markets should be patronized, since they are individuals making a living. Huge agri-business outfits that do SO MUCH of the nations farming are just running a business, and their food is usually of poorer quality. Their soil is literally a sponge, which they spray a bunch of fertilizer on to force things to grow. There is no organic matter left in their soil.

What I find sad, is that many neo-PAGANS are good at living with less, re-using, doing without, etc. which used to be the realm of Catholics! Then you have Catholics who have gone suburban. It's very sad, because the Catholics should really know better (but I know, no one teaches such things anymore...)

I like to identify what is "suburban" so I can avoid such behavior/products/attitudes at all costs. The suburban way of life is very protestant, but VERY un-Catholic. Catholics are social, friendly, have the spirit of poverty, are NOT into status or wealth, etc. Catholics shouldn't have huge electric bills because their A/C is set too low -- that's wasteful and shows a lack of mortification. They shouldn't have TVs (or at least not more than one!). And on down the list -- pretty much everything you see in suburban life would be remedied by turning to a Catholic way of life.

How do we escape being "good little consumers"? First, by knowing that the consumerist system leads to nothing but misery. When we realize that material things will not make us happy, and find other things (prayer, spiritual reading, family, helping the Church, etc.) to take their place, then rejecting suburbanism will come easy.

There are many answers to be given, one for each of the problems. I would have to give hundreds of examples to form a complete "answer" to your question. Maybe you could be more specific, if I've left something out?

By the way, the author of the original article did NOT seem to have any answers. He is good at describing the problem (as are many rock artists today -- they excel at drawing attention to the wounds of the Modern World) but he falls short when it's time to lead us all to a solution. In fact, the poor man doesn't even do a very good job at bucking the trend (WHY did he do something so dumb as paying $50 for a dog's haircut? My wife cuts my hair for free, and I'm a human being!)

I know very well what the solution is, but it takes a bit of time to explain the whole "system". It's taken from the teaching of the Catholic Church. I'm trying to practice it myself, and it really works! I was blessed to attend a Seminary for a few years, so I was taught well what life is about, what illusions the modern world uses, etc.

God bless,

Matthew

Sounds very Buddhist.  =P

The thing to remember is, we're not Amish -- we don't believe technology is evil -- but we must know what effect it has on us, whatever we use.

We shouldn't mindlessly follow the crowd.

For instance, it is probably not a good idea to be listening to distractions/music at all times. How can you hear God speak to your soul when you are never in silence? Thus iPods, MP3 players, Blackberries, etc. are really not a good idea. Listen to CDs from time to time, but try to learn how to SING music, or attend some live events, as well.

There is a way in which a family singing humble folk songs is SUPERIOR to a professional classical music performance recorded on CD. Just like a group of 12 boys playing baseball is FAR superior to watching 2 profesional multi-million dollar teams play on TV.

But who thinks that way nowadays?

And air conditioning should be thought about. Is it necessary to avoid ALL discomfort? Why not set the air at 82 or 83 degrees, to remember that it IS summer, while taking out most of the humidity and heat? But most people want to be in complete comfort at all times (mortification? what's that?), so they crank it down to 72 (or less!) and pay $400 electric bills during the summer. And for what? Needless luxury.

Summer SHOULD be slightly warmer than winter. During the winter, shorts should not be an option. And they AREN'T an option if you have the heat set at 64 or 66 degrees. But how many people set the heat at 70, or more? Then you have kids who wear shorts year-round.

Same for indoor lighting. People have every room in the house lit up like the middle of daytime, instead of having maybe one or two lights on. It SHOULD be a bit "dusky" in your house at 10:00 PM, compared to your house at noon. If it's "depressing" then maybe it will encourage you to go to bed a bit sooner and wake up sooner :)

Modern man is arrogant. He wants to re-order the world as he sees fit. He wants to make young women barren, and old women fertile. He turns winter into summer, and summer into winter. He turns night into day. He turns a long distance into a short one (using cars and airplanes) He turns a still day into a windy day (using fans). He uses chemicals and devices to remove annoying insects from the air. He wants to have control over virtually ALL the crosses that might ever befall him.

How can we go along with that program, and still be good Catholics, humbly submitted to the will of God? It seems to be impossible. There is no salvation without the Cross, so how can we avoid crosses JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, while trying to avoid Hell which is where EVERYONE ELSE is headed?

God bless,

Matthew