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WHY BUY NOTHING?

Can i go an entire day without buying anything? And why should i?

It is true that our society has become economically dependent upon consumerism. And that more and more of us are beginning to detest this form of excessive consumerism that reaches it's peak in th' days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And so, to help each other come up with creative ways to be producers rather than merely consumers, we have decided to celebrate Buy Nothing Day. First of all, we'd like to raise awareness to some of the reasons why we feel excessive consumerism to be a problem, for many people do not see it as such, and why going an entire day without buying anything can help us to realize some of the solutions. One of the more obvious reasons is that we have been born into, and have helped to create a society which allows and actually encourages people to buy way more than they can afford. Which is why most of us have some kind of debt constantly hanging over us. Even the poorest americans are allowed credit cards which can send them into a debt they can never repay. Another reason is that excessive consumerism contributes to laziness. The more we buy, the less we will do for ourselves; the less we do for ourselves, the more lazy we become; the more lazy we become, the more we will buy. We've gotten ourselves caught in a cycle not easily broken.Another reason is that when you buy something that you can make for yourself (even if you cannot make it as well), you deprive yourself of a simple, yet profound satisfaction that only comes from creative production. It is the satisfaction that God must've felt when He created the earth, and said it was "very good." Simple joys such as this are essential to having peace in our hearts and minds.Another important thing that buying nothing for a day can do is help us to consider the history of the products we buy. We begin to ask the questions when, where, how, by whom & in what conditions, and why was a product made. What we begin to realize as we ask these questions is that more often than not the answers are too much to think about. Relatively few products that we buy these days can answer all, or even most of these questions in a loving way. And that makes the questions all the more important. Most of us would not knowingly contribute to another persons suffering, and therefore we should take whatever measures we can to make sure that we are not ignorantly contributing to that same suffering. And so, as we go through an entire day without buying anything some interesting things begin to happen. One of them is that we realize that we don't need everything we buy. And that most of us are in fact unknowingly addicted to buying things in order to fill gaps in our lives that purchased products simply cannot fill. As we resist these urges to buy we begin to discover the things that actually do fill in those gaps. Some of them being spending time with others; the love of friends, family, and community, meeting strangers, spending time alone, or in nature, and being creative. Now let me tell you, it's not easy to buy nothing in this country, and it takes quite a bit of creativity. Most of us have to reimagine our entire day in order to do so. But at the end of the day you feel good.
Another thing that happens is that you begin to consider the billions (yes, billions) of folks around the world that for one reason or another simply cannot buy anything today. One of those reasons being that 20% of the world's population consumes 80% of the its resources. And a mere 12% of the world's population uses 85% of the available drinking water! Any small step we can take to equalize that number is good. But in order for that number to equalize (20% should consume only 20%), many of our economic habits need to change. For as it now stands, that 80% consumption number is a figure on the rise, and can only be changed by a change in our consumeristic behaviors. As we begin to realize these things, it becomes harder and harder to justify some of the habits we have and some of the things that we buy. So we have to start looking for alternatives. Without going into too much detail and writing a book on the subject (which i may do in the future, check thelighthouseband.com for more details...), i'd like to propose some positive solutions, ie, ways in which we can work together to make our world a better place. The first, and perhaps most important thing to do is simply spend some time thinking about the reasons given above. The next thing to do is take note of all that you have and be thankful for it. Another thing to do is find out whatever it is that you can make or do for yourself (and your neighbors, friends, family, etc,) instead of buying and do it. And be creative about it. Even if it's as simple as making your own dinner, or growing a little bit of your own food. If you must have something, and you can't make it, see if you can get it from a friend, perhaps even for trade. Try, as much as is practical, to know the history of some (or all) of the products you buy, and buy only things that can answer the where, how, by whom and why questions in loving and humane ways.
Now i realize that the changes that need to take place in order to live in a caring world are revolutionary, and the task at hand can be quite intimidating. Many bad habits need to be worked into good ones. Anyone who has ever tried to break a habit knows that it is not easy. And so i say to you again, start small. Take one step at a time. Make one change at a time. And very importantly, be creative. Exercise your imagination. And don't be afraid of what others may think of you. Some of the ideas you come up with may seem very silly to others, but try them anyway. And realize that we are all in this together, and that none of us can do it alone. We need the support and encouragement of one another to make these changes and live them out on a daily basis. I myself am still addicted to american consumerism in many ways, and i need your support, just as you need mine. Together, with a little imagination and creativity, we can lead lives of healthy inter-dependence. Thank you for reading.

for more info see globalissues.org