Are you a citizen or a consumer?

[derby378]

I've been mulling over this question in my own head for weeks, but Scott Ritter's recent talk at McNally Robinson in NYC helped force the issue. So which are you? A consumer or a citizen?

[cyclezealot]

1. those who proclaim freedom is based on consumer choice

repulse me. That is the extent they value our freedoms. The government would strictly consider me a consumer only. That is the full appreciation this government has for our citizenry. Witness New Orleans. But, being a choosy shopper and mostly anti corporate in terms of corporate rights as a citizen. ( Corporations are considered citizens.) I am a citizen . Consumerism is only something I am forced to do . Think it'd be paradise to live in a somewhat more co- operative culture.

[rodeodance]

2. The notion of 'citizen AS consumer' has been around since the rise of the

middle class in mid 19th century (although intensified since neoliberalism came about).

So, this binary does not work.

[Double T]

3. Our 'brilliant' leader told the citizens to be good patriotic consumers.......

and go shopping. Aren't we ALL patriotic?:evilgrin:

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. I try to be a smart consumer

as well as an informed citizen

so-- I buy energy efficient light bulbs , local produce etc

I compost and recycle

BUT

I also bought a salad spinner and some wash cloths at Wally yesterday.


No one is perfect


PS_ Scott Ritter rocks!I just watched him on Book Tv with Mark Crispin Miller and I am still astonished by their combined brilliance

[CrispyQ]

5. In the book "Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic" the authors state that

with the help of television & Madison Avenue, the American people traded in their citizenship to become consumers. Affluence was re-defined from having a comfortable level of material wealth complimented with significant leisure time, to simply having more & more material goods, even at the expense of leisure time. I look around, & do I ever see that today. I think that is where so much stress comes from. People pack too much into their lives & never have time to kick back. Well, that's just my opinion, maybe people like being insanely busy. ;)

Here's a link to some excerpts from the book:

http://books.google.com/books?id=CZ9FIEEkcxQC&dq=&pg=PP1&ots=1VIDlOdtYs&sig=xqaJHtUMdQMy7INsNO4lDh5OccE&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Daffluenza%252C%2Bthe%2Bbook%26sourceid%3Die7%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26ie%3Dutf8%26oe%3Dutf8&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title

It's kind of old, copyright late 90's I think, but the authors make some good points.

[soothsayer]

6. actually, we're being consumed by the 'tapeworm economy' (basically

being sucked dry by the big corporations we support).

Here's an explanation:

"In a tapeworm economy a small group of insiders centralize political and economic power at the expense of people, living things and the environment, in a manner that destroys real wealth. In investment terms, it is an economy with a negative return on investment. It is parasitic in nature.

The way an actual tapeworm operates is to inject its host with a chemical that makes the host crave what is good for the tapeworm and bad for the host. So the Tapeworm Economy is adept at using media and education and numerous financial incentives to get us acting against our own strategic interests and instead supporting and depending on the Tapeworm.

The symptoms of the Tapeworm are many - narcotics trafficking that targets our children, runaway exploitive and predatory corporate practices such as the patenting of life, terminator seed and the destruction of our topsoil and food supply, fraudulent inducement of debt to homeowners, students and consumers, suppression of knowledge and renewable energy technology, criminal mismanagement of government credit and resources, black budget operations and the manipulation of currency, financial and precious metal prices and markets. These practices introduce organized crime throughout all aspects of our lives... these transactions drain our families and neighborhoods on a daily basis – much like a tapeworm drains its host. "

snip

much, much more here at katherine austin fitts' great site http://www.solari.com/realdeal.htm

because all our government money and all of our government info is held by and run on systems managed by private companies (not the gov itself), we really don't have a sovereign government like we think we do. There's been an economic coup detat and the US as we know it doesn't exist.

[pansypoo53219]

7. ooh, maybe i should have said unsure.

i don't really shop, except for necessary things. but i do resale and estate sales and sell on ebay, feeding that consumer land. but but but it's recycling and saving the landfills.

[Lilith Velkor]

8. Are you an air breather or a food eater?

Choose one, or forever hold your false dichotomies.