"America may be at peak of 'materialistic' cycle"

[Bluebear]

....Needless to say, America is once again at the peak -- at least, one hopes it's the peak -- of one of these materialistic cycles. As we preside over the dawn of the 21st century, the typical new house has bloated to more than twice the size of an average home of 1950, despite the fact that families have gotten smaller. In the last two decades alone, the average floor area of new homes has increased some 40 percent.

Along the same lines, it's become routine to see featherweight housewives wrestling gigantic 7-foot-high SUVs on half-mile grocery runs. Alas, it doesn't end there, either. Recently, in a shopping mall in a middle-class suburb of Portland, I came across three different boutiques selling clothing, diet supplements and confections --- for dogs.

Perhaps there is a point when too much really is too much. We've all seen that bumper sticker beloved by the terminally empty-headed: "He Who Dies With the Most Toys Wins." Yet few intelligent Americans would argue that having a huge house and a couple of Escalades, much less a larder stocked with dog pastries, has actually made their lives any happier. Some might even own up to the contrary. Yet we seem unable to perceive the siren song of materialism for the commercial sham that it is.

Frank Lloyd Wright once observed: "Many wealthy people are little more than janitors of their possessions." Today, it's not just the wealthy who are so afflicted. Rich and poor, old and young, left and right, we Americans seem poised to become a nation of janitors.

http://www.inman.com/inmaninf/glvar/story.aspx?ID=48364

[laruemtt]

1. i sure hope it's "downhill" from here on out.

i've always felt the less "stuff" i had the better. to me, i seem to experience life more intensely without all that junk anesthetizing my senses.

[Metta]

2. Because we've lost our internal conncection to our divinity.

Happens every time. Lose the inside, the outside is where all the projections and sublimations go.

[politicat]

34. I don't think spirituality has anything to do with it.

Most of the more materialistic people I know claim to be spiritual, religious, metaphysical or similar (they use their own terms.) And they have to have that next crystal, antheme, bible carrying case, audio performance of tibetan bells or whatever and they think that will make themselves happy.

Alternately, the most content and least materialistic people I know tend to be agnostic, atheist or non-religious, people who truly understand the materialistic world (in philosophical terms, not colloquial ones) and understand that this is the world we get, and if we screw up this life, that's all there is.

Please don't smear those of us with a purely naturalistic world view with the slur that we're materialistic sinks of self-medication through retail therapy. We're not.

[Metta]

41. My thoughts.

My thoughts aren't addressed to anyone personally. I'm speaking generally so there's bound to be some false positives. What I mean to say is that there's a direct proportion of outer life either from manifest inner life or inner life held/ acting in the shadow and reflected, sublimated or projected. That's all. ... nothing intending to smear anyone.

[sweetheart]

51. The outer vehicle has rules of physics

And if you don't feed it, it dies. THe inner life is all consuming for
those addicted to the elixer, but even they themselves have a paradigm
for wealth, be it a wealth of time to meditate, a wealth of money for
the idyll of a meditator, a wealth of space to have a zen garden when
the world is otherwise paved over by those who've lost the inner
connection.

Then maybe we're two people, one the selfless *being* self that sees
the world of unity, of outer sensory experience as a disturbance of that
unity. That being, who "thinks" the world is outer and inner is an
ego self.

And then there is the being in all of us who has lost control of it all,
who is deeply present in every moment, in love, in no hurry, happily
engaged or not with illusion, accepting that enlightenment is both
samsara and nirvana, flip sides of the same coin.

And the truth is that religion is just another pretense to the
ineffable moment in which all of life transpires, poetic metaphor
for something substance, and even the highest samadhi experience is
just another experience, and until humanity realizes the futile nature
of experience, the suffering karma is implicit in the act of
glorifying experience to start with.

[Metta]

52. I agree, for the most part.

I believe that we're one self which separates from itself and constructs itself in a variety of ways, some according to ego, which isn't always unprofitable; some to reflect archtype or totems; sometimes in one of our many roles. Each is just something to deal with; something which is has the potential for great unfolding/ understanding. I see the outer world as being a disturbance only in the sense that any change disturbs the ultimate ground of being/ our still pointedness, however, I know I can greatly benefit from those changes because of the information they can provide.

I agree about letting go of attainment, identity, image, thought, emotion. "Imagine there's no heaven; it's easy if you try." Karma, on the other hand, can be immensely beneficial depending upon our intentions, etc., as I'm sure you know. "Do not think lightly of good, saying, "It will not come to me." For even as a bucket is filled if only drop by drop, so we fill ourselves with our deeds and mold our characters." The Buddha, more or less.

[tsuki]

3. True, but who wants it? You have

to dust all that stuff. Yuck.

I know of people that spend every week-end at the Wal-Mart dragging all
that Chinese shit home. Then they have yard sales. What is up with that?

[Solly Mack]

4. I was just gonna say ,he who dies with the most toys, dies from housework

[tsuki]

5. I Love It. LOL.

My new motto.

[SammyWinstonJack]

42. Like the rich do their own housework.

:yoiks:

[IndyOp]

21. That's IT -- that's why my house is so zen-like --

or barren, depending on who you talk to --

I hate to dust! I used to have to dust as a kid and now I just can't bear to bring anything into the house that is not essential. I hadn't made the connection before: Live simply, so that you won't have to dust.

:woohoo:

[tsuki]

28. I am not zen, but my house is very barren.

I get upset when someone puts something on the countertop.

[noamnety]

6. what's that I smell? oh, it's sexism

I have no problem with people complaining about unnecessary gas guzzlers, but what's with the "featherweight housewives" comment in the article?

The author must know that:

a) you don't need to weigh a certain amount to drive a large vehicle - they are powered by fuel, not human muscle.

b) you don't a penis to steer one, unless I suppose you are a quadriplegic and that's the only appendage that works.

c) it makes more sense to use one to fill with groceries than to use it to commute to a job at an office cubicle, but I NEVER see someone whine about a 200 pound man driving an SUV to his office job - it's always a complaint about women using them to buy groceries.

When I read crap like that, even though the rest of the article may have merit, the overpowering sentiment I get from it is that the author is more offended by the fact that a woman is driving a truck than he is about any waste of resources.

[Bluebear]

7. You've never seen someone say a guy driving a Hummer is...

...trying to make up for other um, shortcomings? ;)

[wysi]

10. Well...

... the most popular model here in New Zealand is the "Bighorn"... it doesn't take Freud to figure out that one. :-)

[noamnety]

12. I've heard that connection

we even have a DU thread on it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=228&topic_id=10439

But rants about SUVs as gas guzzlers (if they mention the sex of the driver at all), will almost exclusively mention women hauling groceries or soccer moms, and ignore men commuting to work - even though, logic would dictate, women hauling kids or groceries at least have a small amount more excuse to drive something other than a subcompact than an office commuter.

This seems to be more typical:
"They cut in front of you, are rude, and best of all they think their hot shit and that they have a bigger vehicle than you attitude. Basically what I'm saying is Women driving SUV's should be BANNED from the road. Give em' a Ford Taurus or something!" http://www.totallydelco.com/blog/2004_06_01_archive.html

I guess I'm asking what is the relevance of the author's housewife comment to his main point? I don't see any - it reads like sexism that's so ingrained in him that he's not even aware he's guilty of it.

[Bluebear]

16. I will agree it's an unfortunate sentence in the article.

No argument.

[Fescue4u]

33. I've never seen a guy driving naked

So I really don't know how they measure up.

(whats is it that when people discuss suvs, someone always wants to talk about penis's to?)

[Inland]

20. I'll complain about the commuters in big vehicles

It's true, the huge SUVs, hummers, full size trucks, minvans are in stop and go traffic for thirty miles.

But what REALLY bugs me is when after the toll is paid, the huge vehicles accellerate so rapidly in order to gain five seconds to the next traffic jam, I can hear their tanks drain. Do you now how much gas is wasted punching it to overcome the inertia of a big vehicle? It's so stupid.

[leesa]

8. No doubt. The Landowners will soon own everything we once had.

There will be little to be materialistic about.

[Bluebear]

9. Indeed. I think this year begins the phase of "survivalist" mode!

Not the Y2K kook kind, just plain old you and me trying to, say, keep warm with soaring gas and oil prices?

How can you be materialistic when every spare dime goes into the fuel tank?

[Pharaoh]

11. bravo!

recommendo........

[Catfight]

13. I've made that observation years ago, why the average family of

two kids need a 3k sq ft house these days and 3 cars is beyond me. We had close to 2k sq ft and 6 people with one bathroom. We survived and actually learned to share and have fun. It's just never enough for American's these days, but I believe some Americans, the happy ones, know there's more to live than possessions and power.

[niallmac]

14. Nice read. I hope a new appreciation for the spiritual side

emerges. He who dies with the most toys dies just just the same.

[pansypoo53219]

15. well, i don't dust,

and i do mainly resale, am i a janitor?

[The River]

17. It's the ACS syndrome

Attachment Causes Suffering
..to paraphrase Buddha.
The more things you have, the more
you things you have to protect, insure, wash, paint,
repair, mow, lock up and replace. Ultimately,
you loose it all. Our greatest attachment is, of course,
to our own ego self, our life.

I am so detached from the world of "things" already
that there is practically nothing left to worry about
(except my country).

Everything I own will fit in my 28 year old van.
Everything I need will fit on my back.
Everything I want is already everywhere I go.

[Ally McLesbian]

18. The Los Angeles car culture

is the worst example of the materialistic culture we live in, even though I am guilty of embracing it myself.

Just about every person I know of drives at least a BMW 3-series or a Lexus GS. And I am only the so-called "middle class." The upper class people drive Porsche Cayenne SUVs, at least. We progressives are not immune to the trend either; while progressives elsewhere drive a Prius or a Civic Hybrid, we drive BMWs and Saabs.

My sister drives a Lexus SUV even though her income can barely support it, and my cousin drives an Acura TL. Against them, my *leased* BMW 3-series pales - even though it would still be the most expensive car on the block in any other part of the country.

I'm keeping my BMW, not because it's a status symbol, but because it does drive like a dream, a quality that's important to me. I am under serious pressure from my social circles to upgrade to a 5-series for my next car though, and I am refusing; the 5-series is an overloaded, overpriced piece of junk that I absolutely have no use for. I do like to indulge in a single luxury, and I'll let the 3-series be it; I won't need a mansion, an SUV, a fur coat, or any other items in those categories.

[kestrel91316]

24. Well, the times are even changing here in LA.................

today I drove up to Santa Barbara on the 101. The whole way I did not see a single Hummer, for the first time in doing this trip for 4 1/2 years. Saw far fewer large SUVs than usual, and saw at least a whopping dozen Priuses and Civic Hybrids, up at least 100% from prior trips.

I stopped at a Honda dealer to check out the new Civic that I want, and he said they had NO CIVICS in stock. Period. They had a ton of everything else, including Accords, but not ONE Civic. He said they just fly off the lot, and it's usually a giant SUV that pulls into the lot with an unhappy guy at the wheel that wants the Civic. Gee, I wonder why?

[Ally McLesbian]

30. Nice to hear that!

At least that drive is on the blue side of the Los Angeles basin, despite some patches of red around Thousand Oaks.

I do see more hybrid cars in my neck of woods as well, but the neocons here still buy Hummers. (FYI I live in Diamond Bar, physically Los Angeles County, but culturally and politically more Orange County and Inland Empire.) Of course those Hummers have 2-3 yellow ribbon magnets - they will need them, since more troops will have to die in Iraq to keep those Hummers fueled up!

The Prius is a turn-off for me because of Toyota's anti-labor track record in the US. But the Civic looks like a great car, especially the new and improved hybrid. I would also love the Accord hybrid, even though it's more about power than economy...

[demnan]

19. This is only true for those wealthy enough to afford it

For the most part I see young families with a couple of kids crowding into a small 800-900 ft sq condo. I see people trying to get another year out of their ten to fifteen year old cars. I see couples struggling to put meagre amounts of groceries in their vans or sometimes a small suv.

I think the materialism thing went out a few years ago. I make good money now but I know I'll take a pay cut when I have to take the next job. I live in a 851 sq ft condo in the suburbs. I drive a 6 year old Taurus now. I've got to help my mother with her gas bill this winter. Wonder what I'll be able to afford should I need another car in the future? What will I do if my Mom gets really sick?

[Jose Diablo]

22. Well, yeah, maybe

still, I don't want to move back into a tent or a cardboard box under a bridge. I'm kinda used to having a roof over my head.

When we leave our evil, material, wasteful ways, do you think we can still have a place to live, or must we go back to straw huts and keep moving when the police burn our huts as squatters shacks? You know, to only have what we deserve because the rest of the world lives so modestly.

Besides, I got tired of eating beans and cornbread when I was growing-up in the good old days, in the 50's.

Edit: Am I selfish for wanting more than I had in the good old days?

[kestrel91316]

25. Beans and cornbread were not rare in my home either when I grew up,

but I still like them and consider them comfort food, and a very good use of my consumer dollars.

We weren't poor, but we didn't have everything we ever wanted, not even close. I grew up in a frugal home, and I appreciate the lessons I learned there. It made me a not-so-materialistic adult.

[havocmom]

45. Sounds like my early life. We were always broke, but NEVER poor.

My sister somehow saw/felt it differently. No money = shame to her and it created a hole in her no trinkets can ever fill.

I am sill broke but not poor. To many others are well heeled, but broken.

Beans and cornbread... turns out they discovered food like that is good for ya. :) And what I wouldn't give for just one more meal of wilted red lettuce like my mom made.

[CoffeeCat]

23. The saddest part is that all of this materialism is financed!

The article mentioned the increase in square footage of the average home, since the 1950's.

It's not just the size of the home--it's the stuff that corporate America insists that you must have--to look good, to appear successful and to be "in."

In the 1950's homes had one television. Now, practically every room has a television and multiple computers, cell phones, game systems. And a great television costs thousands, not hundreds, of dollars.

Furniture and home furnishings are sold by expensive specialty shops that offer financing. You can take five years to pay for that new wood floor or granite counter top. Don't worry if you don't want to save to buy a couch or a bed--you can finance that too for several years! People are taking 5 years to pay for their mattresses! Home Depot, Lowes, almost all furniture stores, Pottery Barn all offer their own financing.

I went into Pier1 the other day. I hadn't been into a Pier1 for ages, because I have two small children. I noticed that their merchandise has changed. They sell more big-ticket items, and fewer candles, glass, dishes than they did in the past. They also have their own in-store financing now, which generates the sales on those big-ticket items. This is happening everywhere!

Corporations have figured out ways to bamboozle us into having stuffitis. There is so much more that they convince us we need. Our neighborhood is filled with Halloween lights...on bushes, trees and lining the walkways. No longer are holiday lights just for Christmas. We now have lighted ghosts, Easter trees, and Valentine's Day heart lights.

It's all completely crazy. All of this STUFF is ludicrous, but what's really sad is that most people buy all of this stuff to impress vacuous people that they really don't like--and they put it all on credit cards.

It's so.....pathetic.

[Ally McLesbian]

31. Good observation

And this really started in the aftermath of 9/11 and the economic slump that followed.

W wanted Americans to go out and spend. Corporations followed suit, with such ideas as General Motors' 0% financing on new cars. By making Americans spend and buy goods, the economy would turn around. Even the tax rebates and tax cuts were sold on this idea - to make Americans spend more.

This was a complete opposite of previous administrations' policies, when the idea was to make Americans conserve, so that whatever war (especially WWII) that we happened to be fighting would go more smoothly.

I mentioned in another post that my sister drives a Lexus RX SUV. Her monthly payment is $600. She could've gotten a Toyota Highlander and cut the payment to $400 instead. But the Los Angeles car culture beckons - and in order to be somebody, she had to get the Lexus and put herself in heavier amounts of debt (plus have my mother co-sign the loan!).

And it's those corporations that are laughing all the way to the bank, as we default on all this pressure to spend, and the new bankruptcy laws effective today make it much harder to erase debt.

[kestrel91316]

26. There is an excellent book that I recommend for the people who are

rebelling against materialism and the loss of community.

A Reasonable Life by Ferenc Mate

This book changed my life. He put words to what I was feeling was wrong with the world. And he writes with humor.

[dretceterini]

27. It's sad that so many cars

which are of pratical size and actually have decent gas mileage are not imported to the US. In Europe, for most, cars are transportation. In the US they have become much more of a status symbol.

Our last few cars have been Hyundais; inexpensive and reliable. We have purchased Elantras, but Accents would have suited us just fine. The reason we bought Elantras is that they are a fair amount more car, and were only about $1000 more than the Accents.

Dealer pricing and discount structures are set up to try and MAKE you buy the bigger, less efficient car!

[Ally McLesbian]

29. Regarding Hyundais...

I recently checked out the newest Sonata and was surprised to find that it had stability control as standard equipment. Not traction control, but something even better - stability control - the kind of stuff you normally expect in BMWs costing twice as much.

I would've yelled at you if this were 20 years ago though, since Hyundai was a union-busting sweatshop company back then. (But then, unions were illegal in all of South Korea then anyway, thanks to a Reagan-backed fascist dictatorship in place.) Today, the only non-union Hyundai shop I know of is the one in Alabama.

And those sweatshop Excels were poor cars. Hyundais are still losers in the Los Angeles car culture as a result.

[politicat]

35. I've got a 5 year old accent with 83K...

Best car I've ever owned. And we checked their union record before we bought - when the union benefits for the Accent builders were better than the benefits for the poor Mexican workers who built the little Ford thing were were considering at the same time... no choice in the matter.

Of course, 45 MPG doesn't hurt, either.

[Ally McLesbian]

36. As someone with a...

typical Korean-American as my father (in other words, hardcore neocon Republican) I flinch at anything Korean-made reflexively. I have SEVERE issues with the large Korean-American community here in Los Angeles, who are making Los Angeles look more and more like Cuban-dominated Miami. McCarthyism still lives here - the unions that contributed to your decision to buy your Accent are dismissed as "communist sympathizers."

It did not help that the Republicans and the Korean fascist military dictatorships (1960s through 1980s) have done so much to buttress each other's positions. Having grown up in Seoul during that fascist period, I know how well they played the fear/nationalism/corporatism/moralism card. In fact, W's policies seem straight out of the Korean fascist playbook.

I need to remember that the Korean-American community I know (which includes Reverend Moon, among others) is an anachronistic relic, and NOT representative of the modern, democratic, progressive society that built your Accent. And that democratization did not come about without a fight, not only against the military dictators but against the Republicans backing it.

The Koreans are not perfect; they still have a primitive moral law system, some dating back to the pre-modern era, others enacted by the fascists. (As you can tell from my username, it's a big headache for me whenever I visit Seoul.) But at least they are progressing, while we are regressing. They have the world's best telecommunications and electronics technologies, and they now also have bullet trains that are faster, more frequent, and cheaper than Amtrak's Acela could ever be. If W can use the Korean fascist playbook, we must use the Korean democratization playbook as well.

45 MPG is fantastic, btw. I do need to get over my father, and take a look at the newest Hyundais again. (And I heard that the next Accent may be a hybrid too - though I haven't confirmed this.)

[politicat]

37. We ALL need to get over our fathers....

Oh, the stories I could tell about the (much chinese cursing) I was cursed with....

No society is perfect; for me the model is this: is the society trying to do better by its poorest and most defenseless than it has done in the past, or is it maintaining a level of care, or is it losing ground? I'll reward those that are trying to improve their lots before I'll reward those that are simply maintaining and definitely over those that are losing ground.

As far as moral law goes... well.... we're not looking so good, either.

Not knowing the community, I can't comment on it, but herd mentality is an ugly thing...

[dretceterini]

38. There will be an all new Accent

later in 2006, and the Azera will replace the top-of-the-line XL 350. The Sonata was replaced with an all new Sonata about 6 months ago. I don't know what will happen or when with the Elantra.

I would assume you can now buy a new 2005 Elanta with a rather substantial discount...depending on equipment, as low as $12,000 INCLUDING taxes if you really grind on the salesman!

[politicat]

39. Why? Mine is in great shape, runs like a champ, and I don't need a new car

There's only two of us, and we really don't need a bigger car....

[dretceterini]

44. If you keep it in good shape

and service it regularly, it will probably last you another 10 years or more.

[politicat]

50. I hope so!

The only thing that would convince me to sell it would be someone offering a straight trade for an early 80's diesel Mercedes so that we can convert to biodiesel. But since the Hyundai will run on ethanol with only a $25 part and about $200 in labor, I'm more than happy to hang on to it.

And oh, yes, she gets regular maintenance - and only about 50 miles a week now.

[Ally McLesbian]

43. Maybe I could use one...

... to replace my aging Ford Contour, which has been nothing but trouble. It won't even pass emissions anymore, so I need to get rid of it. Thanks to Ford's pro-W political activities (plus the sight of that F-250 at the Crawford ranch), my Ford-driving days are over.

In fact, my BMW lease was supposed to replace the Ford, but because I purchased too few lease miles, I ended up keeping the junk car to keep the BMW mileage low.

Multiple cars just for one person - another Southern California excess I am guilty of! :crazy:

Seriously though, if I did have a legitimate need for a second car, it does look like a low-end Hyundai could do what the fancy Japanese hybrids do, for less money.

[cynatnite]

49. It's on my list to buy...

Thanks!

[Arugula Latte]

32. I know of few better feelings than unloading a bag or two of stuff

dropping it off at Goodwill or whatever ... you feel light and free ...

Kids bring a lot of stuff into the mix, and it's an endless job weeding out the toys, outgrown clothes, old school papers, etc.

[PatriotGames]

40. That's a great article. I hope it is true. So much junk in the world. n/t

[I_Make_Mistakes]

46. It is true, I junked up my life with stuff, now, that I can't afford that

stuff it doesn't mean anything. We were manipulated into buying stuff, and I mean stuff. That is all it is.

I have done a 180 turn around and it is funny to see my old friends look at me like, where did you go?

I too have gone to the minimalist mind set, the less STUFF the less problems. It is actually quite liberating to not have to be shopping, buying, paying, cleaning, storing for all this STUFF that doesn't do a damn thing for you!

[progressivebydesign]

47. Explanation for bigger houses. Seriously.

Homes are not what they used to be in terms of function. In the 1950's, as you brought up, houses were smaller. But.. houses also served one function, family living. The breadwinner left each day for work and came back to join the family for dinner, maybe watch some tv together in one room, and off to bed. Our lives have changed dramatically. Americans, in the past, would go to libraries for research, movie theatres for entertainment.

I have a large home. I have it because in this house we have two home offices, a place for playing music, an area for computer/studies, a gathering place for friends and family, a functional kitchen because cooking has become a hobby for many rather than a necessity. Homes are larger because we now have multiple tasks that go on in the home, in an unprecedented fashion.

Yes, there are people building ridiculous 5k and 7k sq ft. houses. But the average family home has evolved into larger spaces in general because we have evolved.

[progressivebydesign]

48. I'm glad to hear this. Shopping is a #1 hobby and it's wrong.

I see the stores parking lots packed every day and weekend, as though it's Christmas shopping season. People wander around looking for things to buy. This sounds ridiculously simple, but I've found that now that I don't "shop", I buy a fraction of what I used to buy. Not using malls as entertainment, leaves me with the ability and desire to buy things I really need or truly want to splurge on. I find that a trip to the thrift shops or yard sales gives me as much satisfaction, if not more, you know the thrill of the hunt.

It scares me that our economy is dependent upon people buying lots of shit they don't need and can't afford. It will be a painful transition, if it's indeed hapenning, but very necessary for America's survival. I would also love to see Americans shunning those companies that are sending breadwinner jobs overseas.. why buy their shit? Or carry their credit cards? When they are destroying the very heart of our Democracy by plunging people into poverty??