$10 on lunch with a friend today. Worth it.
Total Spent: $282.18
Total Days: 27
29 January 2008
28 January 2008
Coop-ed Up
Something of note - We joined the Park Slope Food Coop. Prices are good. I estimate we'll save $30 - $50 each time we shop.
Okay, so its been a while. But things aren't so bad. I haven't spent that much since my last post. My meal plan kicked in at work and I've been eating lunch with that and Darren and I have been cooking large meals that last the week. So that is good.
Here we go:
Dinner for two at Franny's: $68.98
Dinner for two at Village Yokocho: $50.75
Jack Spade was having a sale and I've been wanting a work bag: $38.02
Misc. Monies on coffee and a book: $30
Total Spent: $272.18
Total Days: 26
Here we go:
Dinner for two at Franny's: $68.98
Dinner for two at Village Yokocho: $50.75
Jack Spade was having a sale and I've been wanting a work bag: $38.02
Misc. Monies on coffee and a book: $30
Total Spent: $272.18
Total Days: 26
When things fail to interest
Self,
I appreciate that you have taken the care and attention to form a thoughtful, well intentioned gift. Your recent absence and lack of contact with the project is understandable; you were out of town and you had a week of low grade internal crisis. But here you are again, having created another still life filled with objets d'ennui. It isn't your fault. Some landscapes orient themselves to consumpterism.
Regards,
dp
P.S. If you have ideas for pushing the boundaries of this project, feel free to share them. I'm not feeling the charge as much right now. Let's call it waning self-importance.
16Jan08
Cooks Illustrated: $7.44
17Jan08
Meal in Atlanta (for 3): $23.31
18Jan08
Meal in W. Village (for 2): $63.02
Strand books: $50.33
22Jan08(posting)
Consignment shoes + pants: $112.00
Beers (for 4): $25.00
Taschen sale books: $24.35
New granny cart: $23.82
Wine: $18.42
25Jan08
More wine: $18.42
27Jan08
Pancakes+waffles (for 2): $20.01
NY Times Home Delivery (sunday only): $8.00
Groups:
3xcoffees@1.25: $3.75
Misc (i.e. cash I wrote down but didn't say what): $47.75
I am a model of restraint.
Total days: 23
Total spent: $573.61
I appreciate that you have taken the care and attention to form a thoughtful, well intentioned gift. Your recent absence and lack of contact with the project is understandable; you were out of town and you had a week of low grade internal crisis. But here you are again, having created another still life filled with objets d'ennui. It isn't your fault. Some landscapes orient themselves to consumpterism.
Regards,
dp
P.S. If you have ideas for pushing the boundaries of this project, feel free to share them. I'm not feeling the charge as much right now. Let's call it waning self-importance.
16Jan08
Cooks Illustrated: $7.44
17Jan08
Meal in Atlanta (for 3): $23.31
18Jan08
Meal in W. Village (for 2): $63.02
Strand books: $50.33
22Jan08(posting)
Consignment shoes + pants: $112.00
Beers (for 4): $25.00
Taschen sale books: $24.35
New granny cart: $23.82
Wine: $18.42
25Jan08
More wine: $18.42
27Jan08
Pancakes+waffles (for 2): $20.01
NY Times Home Delivery (sunday only): $8.00
Groups:
3xcoffees@1.25: $3.75
Misc (i.e. cash I wrote down but didn't say what): $47.75
I am a model of restraint.
Total days: 23
Total spent: $573.61
15 January 2008
Today:
I spent $0.50 on a banana and $3.20 on a latte - it wasn't very good considering its cost (made by a coffee new comer).
This experience has been interesting. Its like if you start drinking more water everyday and at first its kind of strange to be drinking and peeing so much, but then your body starts craving it more and it becomes very natural. The less I spend and the less stuff I buy, has really made me contemplate every single purchase I make. And not its like this annoying, or obsessive experience, it feel very healthy and actually, it has been quite empowering.
Going out to lunch with a friend who I haven't seen in a while tomorrow, and I think dp and I are going out to dinner too. Its going to be an expensive day.
Total Spent: $84.43
Total Days: 14
This experience has been interesting. Its like if you start drinking more water everyday and at first its kind of strange to be drinking and peeing so much, but then your body starts craving it more and it becomes very natural. The less I spend and the less stuff I buy, has really made me contemplate every single purchase I make. And not its like this annoying, or obsessive experience, it feel very healthy and actually, it has been quite empowering.
Going out to lunch with a friend who I haven't seen in a while tomorrow, and I think dp and I are going out to dinner too. Its going to be an expensive day.
Total Spent: $84.43
Total Days: 14
13 January 2008
Sunday.
Spent better part of the day at K-Dog reading.
Lunch + coffee = 6.50
Total Spent: $80.73
Total Days: 12
Lunch + coffee = 6.50
Total Spent: $80.73
Total Days: 12
Saturdays are Glorious.
Okay, so I spent some change yesterday. Here it goes.
Haircut: $30
Lunch (Fried Rice at Rei Rei Ken - arguably the best ramen house in the city. I waited in a line outside for 20 minutes for a stool.): $5
A latte with a pal: $3
Dinner with a friend: $17.61
Here is the best part. After coffee, I went into an eyeglass shop with my friend because he wants new frames - and so do I, but I haven't wanted to spend the money on them - so as he was looking/trying on, I asked one of the guys who work there to take a look at my glasses because one of the lenses has always been kind of messed up and not in the frame entirely - he said sure I can fix them and he put the frames into his hot glass beads machine to heat them up.
I guess the machine was on too high because one half of my frames totally melted. He kinda of freaked out and ran for cold water...he tried to reshape them and he did a pretty good job but since he totally screwed up and felt badly about it, even though I was a good sport and said it was okay, he gave me a completely free pair of really awesome frames and lenses that are of such better quality then the ones he messed up! I'm so excited! I pick them up Tuesday.
I feel as though I have good consumer karma or something.
Total Spent: $ 74.23
Total Days: 11
Haircut: $30
Lunch (Fried Rice at Rei Rei Ken - arguably the best ramen house in the city. I waited in a line outside for 20 minutes for a stool.): $5
A latte with a pal: $3
Dinner with a friend: $17.61
Here is the best part. After coffee, I went into an eyeglass shop with my friend because he wants new frames - and so do I, but I haven't wanted to spend the money on them - so as he was looking/trying on, I asked one of the guys who work there to take a look at my glasses because one of the lenses has always been kind of messed up and not in the frame entirely - he said sure I can fix them and he put the frames into his hot glass beads machine to heat them up.
I guess the machine was on too high because one half of my frames totally melted. He kinda of freaked out and ran for cold water...he tried to reshape them and he did a pretty good job but since he totally screwed up and felt badly about it, even though I was a good sport and said it was okay, he gave me a completely free pair of really awesome frames and lenses that are of such better quality then the ones he messed up! I'm so excited! I pick them up Tuesday.
I feel as though I have good consumer karma or something.
Total Spent: $ 74.23
Total Days: 11
10 January 2008
Bucks, Bones & Dollas
Had another tea yesterday. It was blueberry this time and wonderful. I'm having a small plate of rice and beans today, also 2 dollars.
4 bucks.
I wonder which language has the most words for meaning 'money' and what they are...
Entries will become more substantial in the near future. I promise.
Total Spent: $18.62
Total Days: 9
4 bucks.
I wonder which language has the most words for meaning 'money' and what they are...
Entries will become more substantial in the near future. I promise.
Total Spent: $18.62
Total Days: 9
08 January 2008
Mmmhmmm....
Its lunchtime and I've spent $2 on some delicious cranberry tea today.
Total Spent: $14.62
Total Days: 7
Total Spent: $14.62
Total Days: 7
Festival Marketplace
I ate and drank yesterday.
I also bought a 2008 calendar and 3 small notebooks for work.
Expensive day!
Total spent on: $51.84
Beyond that, nothing much to say.
Off to Mississippi tomorrow!
I also bought a 2008 calendar and 3 small notebooks for work.
Expensive day!
Total spent on: $51.84
Beyond that, nothing much to say.
Off to Mississippi tomorrow!
07 January 2008
I'm an individual, just like you.
Something I'm thinking about is the way consumer culture both (re)produces and reinforces ideas about the body and the disconnection of mind and body. Would our economy survive if we were more connected persons? How does the lack of a solid bodily identity open individuals to the "private-sector" of body control? How is consumer oriented individualism detrimental to becoming integrated, embodied people?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd like to outline the items that I believe we are calling necessities:
Total Spent: $12.62
Total Days: 6
More later - I'm at work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd like to outline the items that I believe we are calling necessities:
- Groceries
- Transportation (MTA - if we were to get a Zip Car one day that is a different story.)
- ConEd (Wind Power)
- Keyspan
Total Spent: $12.62
Total Days: 6
More later - I'm at work.
06 January 2008
What does God consume?
It's not actually a profound question. Apparently, 80 million Evangelical Americans are already posing and answering this question constantly. I just finished watching the documentary Jesus Camp and, even though consumption itself was not essential to the narrative of the film, the symbols, effects, and ideologies of consumption abound.
The "meat" of the film is tucked into the recent nomination of a conservative Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, Jr. (Liberal brief of his judicial philosophy as a PDF; bevy of links on Justice Alito; Justice Alito was among the dissenters in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision legitimizing EPA enforcement standards for vehicle emissions), giving political contours to this portrayal of hardcore fundamental Christians. Their tactics, teachings, and methods seem scarcely different than the so-called Islamo-fascist enemy that the United States is committed to defeating in the Global War on Terror. It should come as little surprise that the radical Evangelical world view, which openly praises and promotes at least ideological 'war' in the film, draws on bottomless brainwashing rationalizations. There is little to suggest the extent of radicalism exhibited in the film itself, though the directors certainly give the impression that this message is hardly background noise in an increasingly religious electorate in the United States.
I am hardly objective about Evangelical belief; I don't believe it is possible to respond objectively to such indefatigable pontification. I am more interested in why believing in a fundamental version of the Christianity is so frequently coupled with denunciations of global warming and why it has taken such a foothold in the least urbanized areas of the United States.
The film incorporates stunning pastoral shots and swaths of suburban landscapes, highways, hyperbolically tall roadsigns and highway billboards with messages from God. They carry a message as well. The landscapes of suburbia require, encourage, even promote, the consumption of massive amounts of fossil fuels while driving. They also are home to the largest, least conscientiously constructed centers of modern consumption: Wal Mart, Cost-co, etc. The families in the film may not be flagrant consumers of everything, but their specific method of consumption incorporates a view transcending material reality. God has provided the earth. God has provided the fossil fuels for the United States, which must strive to "reclaim" its Christian past, morals and all. We are in a [cultural] war. The current object of bellicose revival is not just the Middle East but a world of unbelievers. The degenerates of the "sick old world" that prospers today. Therefore, the Christian soldiers, urged onward by their unshakable beliefs, feel righteous in their consumption. Anchored in unwavering obedience, Evangelical consumption is required insofar as they seek to outgrow the current moment. Barring the actual Rapture, which I probably won't survive, consumption is the second most likely means to free ourselves from the material world. If we transform everything into commodities, we'll hardly recognize the world as it existed in Edenic prehistory. Why not use it until there isn't anything left? Realize the apocalypse by refusing to curb your appetite for obliteration.
Maybe all I've demonstrated is the staying power of a good 'ol American rant. Railing against extremism. I think the visual link between Evangelical fundamentalism on display in "Jesus Camp" is powerful for its subtlety. The former leader of one of the the largest Evangelical organizations, the National Association of Evangelicals, preached "cooperation without compromise;" the organization operationalizes that marching order by pushing the political aspects of Evangelical religiosity, which includes a sustained effort to discredit global warming. Apparently, a growing number of fundamentally religious Americans are dealing with global warming. But what is the incentive of the NAE to push back on increased enforcement and environmental politics? The leadership seems more keen to cement the profitability of investment portfolios. Perhaps as the market begins to dominate the sustainability movement more, the NAE will flip to alternative sources of influence and profit.
Certainly the fervor and unquestioned authority of the scientific establishment may be just as dangerous, though for different reasons. Beyond that, what troubles me is the relatively apolitical assessment that levels of consumption in the United States top those in most of the rest of the world and, even today, economic leaders threaten doom if the profound desire of the American consumer to purchase is not satisfied. That is a global effort. As long as 80 million Americans believe that our rightful place in the world is as the God-ordained leader, we will continue to believe that our rightful position justifies unlimited usage of often limited resources.
Today I did not purchase anything.
Yesterday I purchased a late snack at a diner for Dara and I. Total was $15.30.
Working on that Widget.
Praise God,
dp
The "meat" of the film is tucked into the recent nomination of a conservative Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, Jr. (Liberal brief of his judicial philosophy as a PDF; bevy of links on Justice Alito; Justice Alito was among the dissenters in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision legitimizing EPA enforcement standards for vehicle emissions), giving political contours to this portrayal of hardcore fundamental Christians. Their tactics, teachings, and methods seem scarcely different than the so-called Islamo-fascist enemy that the United States is committed to defeating in the Global War on Terror. It should come as little surprise that the radical Evangelical world view, which openly praises and promotes at least ideological 'war' in the film, draws on bottomless brainwashing rationalizations. There is little to suggest the extent of radicalism exhibited in the film itself, though the directors certainly give the impression that this message is hardly background noise in an increasingly religious electorate in the United States.
I am hardly objective about Evangelical belief; I don't believe it is possible to respond objectively to such indefatigable pontification. I am more interested in why believing in a fundamental version of the Christianity is so frequently coupled with denunciations of global warming and why it has taken such a foothold in the least urbanized areas of the United States.
The film incorporates stunning pastoral shots and swaths of suburban landscapes, highways, hyperbolically tall roadsigns and highway billboards with messages from God. They carry a message as well. The landscapes of suburbia require, encourage, even promote, the consumption of massive amounts of fossil fuels while driving. They also are home to the largest, least conscientiously constructed centers of modern consumption: Wal Mart, Cost-co, etc. The families in the film may not be flagrant consumers of everything, but their specific method of consumption incorporates a view transcending material reality. God has provided the earth. God has provided the fossil fuels for the United States, which must strive to "reclaim" its Christian past, morals and all. We are in a [cultural] war. The current object of bellicose revival is not just the Middle East but a world of unbelievers. The degenerates of the "sick old world" that prospers today. Therefore, the Christian soldiers, urged onward by their unshakable beliefs, feel righteous in their consumption. Anchored in unwavering obedience, Evangelical consumption is required insofar as they seek to outgrow the current moment. Barring the actual Rapture, which I probably won't survive, consumption is the second most likely means to free ourselves from the material world. If we transform everything into commodities, we'll hardly recognize the world as it existed in Edenic prehistory. Why not use it until there isn't anything left? Realize the apocalypse by refusing to curb your appetite for obliteration.
Maybe all I've demonstrated is the staying power of a good 'ol American rant. Railing against extremism. I think the visual link between Evangelical fundamentalism on display in "Jesus Camp" is powerful for its subtlety. The former leader of one of the the largest Evangelical organizations, the National Association of Evangelicals, preached "cooperation without compromise;" the organization operationalizes that marching order by pushing the political aspects of Evangelical religiosity, which includes a sustained effort to discredit global warming. Apparently, a growing number of fundamentally religious Americans are dealing with global warming. But what is the incentive of the NAE to push back on increased enforcement and environmental politics? The leadership seems more keen to cement the profitability of investment portfolios. Perhaps as the market begins to dominate the sustainability movement more, the NAE will flip to alternative sources of influence and profit.
Certainly the fervor and unquestioned authority of the scientific establishment may be just as dangerous, though for different reasons. Beyond that, what troubles me is the relatively apolitical assessment that levels of consumption in the United States top those in most of the rest of the world and, even today, economic leaders threaten doom if the profound desire of the American consumer to purchase is not satisfied. That is a global effort. As long as 80 million Americans believe that our rightful place in the world is as the God-ordained leader, we will continue to believe that our rightful position justifies unlimited usage of often limited resources.
Today I did not purchase anything.
Yesterday I purchased a late snack at a diner for Dara and I. Total was $15.30.
Working on that Widget.
Praise God,
dp
05 January 2008
The other half of the pitcher of beer dp enjoyed last night was with me at Black Sheep.
$4
Total Spent: $12.62
Total Days: 4
$4
Total Spent: $12.62
Total Days: 4
04 January 2008
Mini-Missive
It's still only food. Although, there was another executive decision not to include essential food purchases. This is a somewhat elusive exception, but the main idea is that when we go out to buy groceries and then cook/eat at home, those things are not included. We've all got to eat people. Perhaps some purchases - like an entire prosciutto ham - could be outside the scope, so to speak.
Anyway.
3 January 2007
$6.50 for one cup of coffee and two empanadas. I decided to eat at K-dog and Dunebuggy, which is our local coffee shop, (henceforth K-dog) to reduce the packaging. Coffee in a ceramic cup and empanadas on a plate. Mmm.
4 January 2007
It's Friday. That means a little treat in the form of $7.50 for French fries and my half of a pitcher of beer.
I'm not really creative, so there's no message today. My only thought is that I could use a widget to track it all, categorize, etc.
Love,
dp
Anyway.
3 January 2007
$6.50 for one cup of coffee and two empanadas. I decided to eat at K-dog and Dunebuggy, which is our local coffee shop, (henceforth K-dog) to reduce the packaging. Coffee in a ceramic cup and empanadas on a plate. Mmm.
4 January 2007
It's Friday. That means a little treat in the form of $7.50 for French fries and my half of a pitcher of beer.
I'm not really creative, so there's no message today. My only thought is that I could use a widget to track it all, categorize, etc.
Love,
dp
02 January 2008
Clog No. 1
And so it begins. I'm calling it clogging (consumption logging).
Today I spent $8.62 on lunch. I had Pad Se-ew it was sub par but I have leftovers that I will eat tomorrow.
My leftovers were placed into a small "chinese food" container --> a brown paper bag --> a clear plastic bag.
Pretty ridiculous amount of packaging for this small container. I've been housing a pretty large collection of bags and other miscellaneous containers in the bottom drawer of my desk at work. This started when the CSA was still in season and I would use the bags I collected for the food I picked up. That way I wouldn't have to carry bags to work.
Anywho, I signed up for a meal plan today (since I am employed by a university) for this semester in an effort to save on money and packaging. Additionally, there is an all local dinning hall just steps from my building.
Hopefully this works out.
Total Spent: $8.62
Total Days: 1
Today I spent $8.62 on lunch. I had Pad Se-ew it was sub par but I have leftovers that I will eat tomorrow.
My leftovers were placed into a small "chinese food" container --> a brown paper bag --> a clear plastic bag.
Pretty ridiculous amount of packaging for this small container. I've been housing a pretty large collection of bags and other miscellaneous containers in the bottom drawer of my desk at work. This started when the CSA was still in season and I would use the bags I collected for the food I picked up. That way I wouldn't have to carry bags to work.
Anywho, I signed up for a meal plan today (since I am employed by a university) for this semester in an effort to save on money and packaging. Additionally, there is an all local dinning hall just steps from my building.
Hopefully this works out.
Total Spent: $8.62
Total Days: 1
I'll (Not) Contain You
We've arrived at the very beginning of the process; it's the first day of consumption logging. I'm off to an unmonumental start. The only thing I purchased today was lunch:
$10.84 for 1 hot links sandwich with a side of 'cued beans from Smoke Joint, the Fort Greene BBQ depot. I'm happy to support them. They are a conscientious local eatery and strive to use homegrown and local ingredients with flare.
Recording a food purchase deserves some explanation. The intention of the project isn't to provide a neurotic inventory of the minutiae of everyday life. However, insofar as the the project is intended to situate those tiny decisions in the context of consumption as a daily behavior, anything that fits is part of the inventory. I've decided to log food because it constitutes a significant portion of my consumptive behavior.
In that vein, I am thinking about all of the 'unbilled extras' included when I get takeout. Today it was:
2 moist towelettes
1 Prepackaged silverware kit, with knife and fork and 1 packet each of salt and pepper
1 Plastic bag
1 container for the hot links and complimentary coleslaw, made of #6 Polystyrene
1 container for 'cued beans, made of #6 Polystyrene
1 tinfoil wrapper for the bun
1 plastic bag
------------------
8 supporting items at no cost to me.
$10.84 for 1 hot links sandwich with a side of 'cued beans from Smoke Joint, the Fort Greene BBQ depot. I'm happy to support them. They are a conscientious local eatery and strive to use homegrown and local ingredients with flare.
Recording a food purchase deserves some explanation. The intention of the project isn't to provide a neurotic inventory of the minutiae of everyday life. However, insofar as the the project is intended to situate those tiny decisions in the context of consumption as a daily behavior, anything that fits is part of the inventory. I've decided to log food because it constitutes a significant portion of my consumptive behavior.
In that vein, I am thinking about all of the 'unbilled extras' included when I get takeout. Today it was:
2 moist towelettes
1 Prepackaged silverware kit, with knife and fork and 1 packet each of salt and pepper
1 Plastic bag
1 container for the hot links and complimentary coleslaw, made of #6 Polystyrene
1 container for 'cued beans, made of #6 Polystyrene
1 tinfoil wrapper for the bun
1 plastic bag
------------------
8 supporting items at no cost to me.
Impetus
25 December 2007
Dear Danny,
We’ve been laboring over the proposition of a green gift for some time now. Early in the process, we both decided that a non-material gift was the most appropriate and meaningful that we could give. This is connected to our ideas and experiences of the green phenomenon, environmentalism, and consumer capitalism. Already this felt like a heavy gift to bestow upon you.
I have a feeling that you aren’t the biggest fan of consumerism, but choosing not to buy a gift for you was still a daunting proposition. Even though the whole Christmas holiday has become a repository for our cultural affinity with monumental amounts of stuff wrapped elevated anxieties. Translation: people are crazy this time year. So why not give the inverse of that drab craziness? Instead of identifying an object that we can only hope will mean something to you, we are going to do our gift instead.
Dara and I have been armchair critics of the whole market economy since we became college students. It’s not that difficult. We live in a liberal city and went to a liberal college. We read a lot of nihilist social theory, we spent plenty of time identifying a broken system, we learned to become critics. Even armed with all this knowledge of what is wrong, we so infrequently address how to live with that wrong, much less how to alter or avert it. It’s certainly is a dour outlook, unless you change your ways. No surprises that capitalism isn’t the great arbiter of equality and justice. More often, we find it doling out injustice and smearing any hope of equality. So we are going to take one small first step toward addressing the role of that system in our lives. No big deal.
But how do we take that step? First we have to acknowledge that we have feet. In this case, our feet are more like ideas, privileges, choices, issues. Then we have to combine our intention and awareness to make those feet move. The result is pretty definitively an action; we take the step. Let’s not get lost in the metaphor, though. That’s just a way to understand it, a door to something we hope will be positive and worthwhile.
Here’s what we are going to do: We are going to track our consumption for three months on a blog that we created (http://whyconsume.blogspot.com). At the end of each month, we are going to tally up our transactions - any time we buy something new - and donate 10% of that to a cause, person, charity, event, whatever of your choosing. We hope that you have something in mind. Maybe there is a local organization in San Francisco that you really like. Maybe you have a friend who is having a hard time. You get the idea. We expect that the blog will also include reflections on the whole experience. We invite you to participate in whatever way you want to. Share it with people.
It’s certainly not going to alter the course of history, but it will build our awareness of what we consume, why we consume it, and what it means to consume it. It will help us to develop a positive intention each time we do make the decision to consume. And it will create a strong incentive to action, especially with your choice of how to spend our money.
So many gifts are a blip. A commercial. A brief passing of some thing that you may forget as soon as the main course arrives. It creates an appetite that is seldom fulfilled. As we meet our needs, we only find more. Like everything, it’s a cycle. We intend to create a sustained gift, one that does not have an incentive to stop. If our consumption decreases, we can increase the amount that we donate to a cause. It also creates a new opportunity to form relationships based on something other than shared material. It’s hard to talk to a sweater.
To some, we imagine that this will sound a little crazy or a little unnecessary. Why keep track? Don’t you already know? Why broadcast it? Who cares? We answer in order: to know; no; because it creates accountability; we care, maybe one day we can convince you that it’s worth caring too. Our hope is that the idea will grow and change and produce some alternative reason to participate in the whole mad mess.
Merry Christmas,
Darren + Dara
P.S. 3 months is our minimum. Maybe we’ll continue in a new way after that time is up.
Dear Danny,
We’ve been laboring over the proposition of a green gift for some time now. Early in the process, we both decided that a non-material gift was the most appropriate and meaningful that we could give. This is connected to our ideas and experiences of the green phenomenon, environmentalism, and consumer capitalism. Already this felt like a heavy gift to bestow upon you.
I have a feeling that you aren’t the biggest fan of consumerism, but choosing not to buy a gift for you was still a daunting proposition. Even though the whole Christmas holiday has become a repository for our cultural affinity with monumental amounts of stuff wrapped elevated anxieties. Translation: people are crazy this time year. So why not give the inverse of that drab craziness? Instead of identifying an object that we can only hope will mean something to you, we are going to do our gift instead.
Dara and I have been armchair critics of the whole market economy since we became college students. It’s not that difficult. We live in a liberal city and went to a liberal college. We read a lot of nihilist social theory, we spent plenty of time identifying a broken system, we learned to become critics. Even armed with all this knowledge of what is wrong, we so infrequently address how to live with that wrong, much less how to alter or avert it. It’s certainly is a dour outlook, unless you change your ways. No surprises that capitalism isn’t the great arbiter of equality and justice. More often, we find it doling out injustice and smearing any hope of equality. So we are going to take one small first step toward addressing the role of that system in our lives. No big deal.
But how do we take that step? First we have to acknowledge that we have feet. In this case, our feet are more like ideas, privileges, choices, issues. Then we have to combine our intention and awareness to make those feet move. The result is pretty definitively an action; we take the step. Let’s not get lost in the metaphor, though. That’s just a way to understand it, a door to something we hope will be positive and worthwhile.
Here’s what we are going to do: We are going to track our consumption for three months on a blog that we created (http://whyconsume.blogspot.com). At the end of each month, we are going to tally up our transactions - any time we buy something new - and donate 10% of that to a cause, person, charity, event, whatever of your choosing. We hope that you have something in mind. Maybe there is a local organization in San Francisco that you really like. Maybe you have a friend who is having a hard time. You get the idea. We expect that the blog will also include reflections on the whole experience. We invite you to participate in whatever way you want to. Share it with people.
It’s certainly not going to alter the course of history, but it will build our awareness of what we consume, why we consume it, and what it means to consume it. It will help us to develop a positive intention each time we do make the decision to consume. And it will create a strong incentive to action, especially with your choice of how to spend our money.
So many gifts are a blip. A commercial. A brief passing of some thing that you may forget as soon as the main course arrives. It creates an appetite that is seldom fulfilled. As we meet our needs, we only find more. Like everything, it’s a cycle. We intend to create a sustained gift, one that does not have an incentive to stop. If our consumption decreases, we can increase the amount that we donate to a cause. It also creates a new opportunity to form relationships based on something other than shared material. It’s hard to talk to a sweater.
To some, we imagine that this will sound a little crazy or a little unnecessary. Why keep track? Don’t you already know? Why broadcast it? Who cares? We answer in order: to know; no; because it creates accountability; we care, maybe one day we can convince you that it’s worth caring too. Our hope is that the idea will grow and change and produce some alternative reason to participate in the whole mad mess.
Merry Christmas,
Darren + Dara
P.S. 3 months is our minimum. Maybe we’ll continue in a new way after that time is up.
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