We Need a New Name

When someone hears the word “American” there are probably a hundred other words that might pop into their minds depending on where they are from and what relationship they have to the United States. Some of those words are likely to have a negative connotation, and others might reflect a sense of admiration or even envy. But regardless of how the hearer might feel about Americans, there is one synonym that seems to be universally accepted – by Americans and non-Americans alike. It is a word that is used in our media on a daily basis. And every time I hear it, I cringe and feel embarrassed and at times even ashamed – but at the same time, I am "guilty as charged". Some of us may be democrats and others republicans, some may be Christian and some Jewish, some may be black and some may be white. Some may be white collar and others blue collar, and some no collar at all. But this one particular tag, this one identifier, this particular label seems to stick to all of us without regard to race, gender, age, class or any other distinction. As Americans we are Consumers.

It is telling that when you observe a shift in another culture, and it gets described as “westernization” what is likely being observed is a shift toward greater consumerism! To be more like America means to be bigger consumers. After 911, one of the earliest messages even from our countries leaders, was "buy more". Consuming is the answer to homeland security. The message throughout the recent recession - that was brought on by irresponsible lending and borrowing practices, and deplorable greed - is "spend more". In 2008 companies in this country spent more than 410 billion dollars on advertising - to help us be better consumers.

We are so indoctrinated in this role that we begin to believe statements like "The more you buy the more you save". This may come as a surprise to some, but you can’t save money at a retail store. You can only spend money there. To save money, you go to a bank and put your money in a savings account, CD or money market account - or you could even stick it in a plastic bag under your mattress. But there's only one thing you can do with your money at a store - consume.

This consumerism is so much a part of our national identity that our English language struggles to even find a good antonym for the word. The most common I've found is producer. But how many of us produce anything - except waste from the things we consume? The American language doesn't even give us an option.

Did you know that the single fastest-growing segment of the commercial real estate market in the past 35 years is Self-storage facilities. These are the places we put all the stuff that we consume when we run out of space for that stuff in our homes, closets, attics, basements, sheds, garages and parents homes. Between 2000 and 2007 the self-storage industry grew 81%. Today self-storage is a $22 billion industry with over 50,000 storage facilities in the US. In fact, there are so many self-storage facilities in the US, they cover more than 78 square miles - that's 2.2 billion square feet.

In Matthew 6:19, Jesus said "do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth..." This is one of those Jesus sayings that we have conveniently dismissed as metaphorical. But ask yourself a few questions. What is my stuff doing for me? Does it set me free or does it enslave me? How much time do I spend managing and maintaining my stuff? How much do I spend just on insuring my stuff? Do I own my stuff, or does my stuff own me? We have a stuff crisis in this country. It's a virus that is starting to spread to other countries and peoples as well. How can we deal with this crisis? I have a couple simple recommendations. One is to view a creative, but hard-hitting little video on "The Story of Stuff". You can see it at www.storyofstuff.com.

Another recommendation is to begin to take Jesus' words more literally? In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (stuff)."

With these words ringing in our ears, and our attic and shed near capacity (no self-storage unit yet, but getting dangerously close) my family and I have decided to try a new version of the old "one a day challenge". I'm sure all of us have given ourselves a daily challenge before. Maybe a nutrition or other health related challenge. Maybe daily prayer. Perhaps to smile and say hello to a stranger or spend some quality time with your spouse or children.

Our new one a day challenge is this. Every day we will try to...
1. Give something away,
2. Throw something away or,
3. Sell something and give the money to someone in need.

Every day, get rid of one of our possessions. We started small. I found a few books on my shelf that I wasn't going to read again and gave them to someone who would. Then we went through our attic and found a bunch of cardboard boxes we'd been saving for who knows what and gave some to a friend who needed some moving boxes, and the rest ended up on the curb on recycling day. After that it was a small TV, then a computer. Give it a try - it's very freeing! Get rid of stuff that you said you might use someday, but 15 years later it's still taking up space in your attic. Give away one book, CD or DVD. Find the things you have two of and give one to someone who has none. The next time someone asks to borrow something - give it to them instead. Or the next time someone says, "hey, I really like that tie", take it off and give it to them.

We earned the name "consumer" because it is probably the one thing most of us do every single day. What if we turned it around. Instead of consuming every day, we let go of something every day. As I try to shed all of the stuff that enslaves me, I want to shed the name consumer as well. We need a new name. How about Remusnoc?