Current mood:

thoughtful

On holidays and spending
While my librarian job certainly has its frustrating moments, it has its high points as well. While I have to work two nights a week, I usually spend the last hour of those nights searching for books to add to the collection. And it's not even technically slacking! Woo hoo! It almost makes those college and grad school education debts seem worthwhile.

An even better feeling is when I find a book that I want to add to the collection, so I can read it... and it's already there! Case in point: The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer by Juliet B. Schor. Admittedly, I just got it off the shelf now, so I will withhold any sort of editorial review. However, I'm happy to have found it, since consumerism is the main topic crowding my mind right now.

Why? Probably because I spent Black Friday (the shopping day immediately after Thanksgiving here in the US) with relatives, watching the news most of the day. And what was the big news? People were shopping! Woo hoo! In droves! And the sales were great!

And I had to ask myself... why is this news? Why is the media covering this? Why are viewers lapping it up? Fine, let them discuss how this day is an economic indicator, but do otherwise sane journalists really have to broadcast from WalMart to talk about the great deals?

The other reason this is on my mind is that, for the first time in my life, I really want to get away from the whole consumer aspect of the season. Not only do I not want anything, but I'd sort of rather not buy anything for anyone else, either. Not out of miserly selfishness, but because I really don't want to keep this cycle of buying and spending going. I don't want to be a participant, and I don't want to drag others into it along with me.

Fortunately I have a partner who feels the same way... or, more correctly, has probably felt this way for some time. For the holiday, we're getting each other clothes and maybe some other necessities, but otherwise tucking money away towards the possibility of getting a house next year. Even better, my family is not even doing a Secret Santa thing -- we're just buying for the kids, and that's it. (So I get to buy my nephews and nieces the cool boardgames that they don't sell in the toy stores. That sort of shopping I enjoy -- getting them creative games they wouldn't otherwise be exposed to.)

So why am I rambling about this? Why is this on my mind? It's just that, despite the similar feelings of my partner and family, I'm finding it hard to escape the feelings of the rest of society. I've had problems with spending too much in the past, especially in college and graduate school. It's tempting for me, when faced with a rough day, to want to pop on an online bookstore or games store and think about buying something. Looking at things like the Tech-bargains sites cheer me up once in a while.

Perhaps it's a childish notion, but I'd like to have a model of non-consumerism to support my own escape from this cycle. Religious figures quickly jump to mind, but there's too many things about those that conflict with my own notions. I just wish... I don't know, that there was a holiday special about people saying, screw this, why are we letting material things make us happy? Technically there are a few holiday specials like that, but don't they all just get all the loot at the end anyway? Or maybe give all the loot to the needy. Consumer goods as a gift to the poor. I've always found that odd. "You're poor, so here are toys for your children." I support the spirit of the thing, but toys don't change economic status.

Maybe I should look into Kwanzaa... yeah, not exactly a tradition for an Irishman, but I like the idea of a holiday with ceremonies marking things like Self-Determination, Collective Work, and Cooperative Economics. Maybe I'll just tuck those ideas away with the bits and pieces I've salvaged from other religious traditions or holidays.

I am so rambling right now. Anyway, time for me to wrap this rant up.


Rant over *grin*. I'm going to start reading the book tonight, so maybe I'll be reflecting on these sorts of issues later. Til next time....