Filled under:
 1 year old, Musings, Political Banter
3 Comments

Material Girl

Email
Print

Do you ever find yourself blaming other people for your problems? Couldn’t it be argued that all your troubles start and end with you? Do you think that if we all took 100% responsibility for everything that went wrong in our lives we could change our world faster then waiting for the world to change for us?

I am not sure I believe any of what I just said because I do think social conditioning will impact a person’s psychological capacity of being able to create their own universe…. but I believe in it enough to say it with quasi conviction masked behind multiple question marks.

The Occupy Wall Street protests have inspired a lot of thought and critique of our political and economic systems, which is of course relevant, important, and a great opportunity to use big words like “fiduciary” and sound smart. But I am beginning to realize there is not a lot of talk about our responsibility as citizens for how every thing got this way.

We, the consumers and voters, have a part to play in this system and must realize that maybe our empowerment is hidden underneath our own addiction to stuff. Why is it that only when we can’t buy as much crap because our economy sucks that people start to really rebel? I understand it is human nature to become more interested and passionate about causes that affect you directly… for instance, would Michael J. Fox put all his time and energy into curing Parkinson’s disease if he didn’t have it? Not that I am shitting on how much of an impact MJF has made, but it is something to consider.

A lot of the people protesting were once not only a part of, but also supporters of the very same system they are now reacting against. How come it had to take such a drastic recession to push people to see what has been happening above the puppet strings for quite some time? Wall Street’s behavior has been tolerated by the American public because we keep consuming at a rate that rivals warp speed. As any parent would know, tolerating behavior enforces it.

If we really wanted to screw with Wall Street, what about a week where the 99% didn’t buy anything? How about a month? If we really want to affect the system what if we refused to support it with the very thing that feeds it… our dollars? I am not saying that it would be easy, we would have to be really organized, and it would probably suck too. But if we don’t want materialism to rule us we have to stop being material girls and boys

“Yup! These pearls are real!”

Material Girl (Madonna)
Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me
I think they’re O.K.
If they don’t give me proper credit
I just walk away

They can beg and they can plead
But they can’t see the light, that’s right
‘Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right, ’cause we are

[Chorus:]

Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl

Some boys romance, some boys slow dance
That’s all right with me
If they can’t raise my interest then I
Have to let them be

Some boys try and some boys lie but
I don’t let them play
Only boys who save their pennies
Make my rainy day, ’cause they are

[chorus]

Living in a material world (material)
Living in a material world
[repeat]

Boys may come and boys may go
And that’s all right you see
Experience has made me rich
And now they’re after me, ’cause everybody’s

[chorus]

A material, a material, a material, a material world

Living in a material world (material)
Living in a material world

Share this article: ,
RSS 2.0 feed | Trackback
  • http://WebsiteURL holly

    Great picture!

  • http://WebsiteURL alia

    oh yes! civil disobidience and boycott is the ONLY WAY! ;)

  • http://WebsiteURL ginan rauf

    Toni:

    You touch upon some really important points. A Harvard (former) economist Juliet Schorr who wrote ”The Overworked American” and the ”Overspent American” touches upon the simplicity movement well before the recession, citing spiritual traditions that stress voluntary poverty. I mean if you think about it Christian monasteries are all about communal ownership and doing with less. In Muslim traditions you have the Sufis who try to detach themselves from worldly things. But as you cited in your radio interview we are all now in the grip of a global consumer religion. So now the pilgrimage to Mecca instead of being a journey of hardship has taken on the qualities of a super deluxe tourist experience complete with air conditioned tents and buffets that can compete with any cruise. Shorr’s point is that these ancient traditions can be revived to strengthen people emotionally and psychologically to resist consumer culture. I think the notion of not buying anything for a week is splendid. You might want to suggest it to OWS!