Buy Nothing Day 2008

I have these crazy friends who live lives of radical simplicity, joy and love.  They inspire me, and I thought they might inspire you as well.  In these times of economic uncertainty, it is important to be reminded that the things in life that really matter can't be bought and sold.  We can resist the colonization of our minds by corporations by refusing to participate in the unjust system that they present to us as reality.  There is so much about our consumptive society that undermines what it means to be whole human beings, but we don't have to participate.  I don't have time to elaborate here, so I hope I'm clear enough in what I'm trying to say.  It's not JUST about slave labor in factories to produce those cheap sneakers, it's not JUST about the environmental degradation that goes into manufacturing and transporting those electronics, it's not JUST about the terrible cycle of debt that most Americans live in today...  It's all that and more--it's the dehumanization that comes from being reduced to consumers of stuff, and this holiday season I squarely reject that lie!  As Wendell Berry says (and I often quote):

The most alarming sign of the state of our society now is that our leaders have the courage to sacrifice the lives of young people in war but have not the courage to tell us that we must be less greedy and wasteful.

The real kicker is that in being less greedy and less wasteful, we lead lives NOT of deprivation (as the corporate lie tells us) but of FREEDOM and JOY!  Let's face it, living lives in love and service is just plain MORE FUN!  So in this spirit of mischief and celebration, here are some examples of others who are resisting materialism and living for a larger purpose:

Adbusters: the originators of Buy Nothing Day.

USAntiheroes: those crazy cats having more fun up in the video.

Advent Conspiracy:  a new twist on the holiday season.

New American Dream:  great resources on a saner holiday season and responsible consumption

Comments

[Alison]

AMEN SISTER FRIEND!!!

[Erin]

We have celebrated (not sure if that is the right word or not) Buy Nothing Day for a while now. It's so nice to not join in the consumerism that is so crazy after Thanksgiving. In the last few years we have also tried to pair down our holiday buying frenzy and have done homemade gifts and donated to charities. Yes, we still buy gifts but hopefully make a small dent in not falling to the giant consumer monster.

[Angela]

hey, i just posted about advent conspiracy, too! it is so encouraging to see so many mama bloggers embracing a more humble notion of the Christmas season.