bargains to kill for

On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, so named because it is the day retailers typically turn to profit for the year, Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death by a bargain-crazy mob that broke through the doors of a Wal-Mart store on Long Island minutes before the 5 a.m. opening.

"By 4:55, with no police officers in sight, the crowd of more than 2,000 had become a rabble, and could be held back no longer. Fists banged and shoulders pressed on the sliding-glass double doors, which bowed in with the weight of the assault. Six to 10 workers inside tried to push back, but it was hopeless."

And later,

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, ‘I’ve been on line since yesterday morning,’ ” Ms. Cribbs told The Associated Press. “They kept shopping."

- The New York Times, November 29, 2008 (1)

I don't know what horrifies me more about this tragedy, that people can trample over another human being without regard, that they can ignore the pleas of his co-workers, or that they could complain when store managers tried to close the store after the murder but before the shoppers could get their bargains. Or simply that people would line up for eight hours in near-freezing temperatures overnight to save a few bucks on things they don't need. Watching refugees in Darfur clamoring around trucks handing out food donations? Understandable. Suburbanites willing to kill to save on a flat screen TV? Criminal.

Instead of using the economic downturn as a time for some much needed reflection on how rampant consumerism has impacted our lives, indeed our collective soul, Americans, like crack addicts on a budget, are going to extremes to get their next fix at a discount. Retailers and advertisers are our dealers, hyping shortages to increase demand. Witless tools of greedy marketers we as a nation have become.

Here's an idea: do without. Really. Job security hasn't been lower in 70 years. Personal debt has never been higher. Doesn't that point to saving? But don't just do it because it's responsible. Do it to re-set your definition of need. Because what is desperately needed now is a new equilibrium. A new normal for what we, as citizens of the world's richest nation, truly need to feel content. Once you have chosen to go without that which you had once deemed necessary, you may begin to look around at all the other things you thought you needed and see it as mere clutter.

I speak from some experience here. Out of necessity, I was forced to pare down my belongings as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda. And I had a lot of belongings. I was 37 when I started my service and had already had well-paying careers in advertising and education. I spent my leisure time perusing Pottery Barn catalogs and Banana Republic stores. This, before I could do it no longer, was a consistent source of entertainment. A new skirt or arm chair brought a sense of freshness and contentment for at least a couple weeks. But the returns were diminishing. The more stuff I got, the more I needed to reach the same level of satisfaction.

Then, I was told I could bring just 70lbs of all that I owned to Uganda for the next two years. I'm not embarrassed to say I was the volunteer who brought the most luggage. Not embarrassed because it serves my point here. If I could get used to less, so can most people. I went from a spacious one bedroom apartment to 200 square feet including my pit latrine and bathing room. Effectively living in a quarter of the space I used to occupy. But I hardly missed it. I didn't miss my TV. I didn't miss my extensive shoe collection. I didn't miss my computer. I had no trouble living within that space and within my means. In many ways, I felt liberated. I was no longer a slave to my possessions. When I returned to the US, I was often surprised and frustrated by the amount of time it took to check my email, manage my finances or shop for groceries. Nevermind the price of an avocado.

I had re-set my sense of normal. When I moved to Jakarta with its lavish malls and my tax-free expat salary, my old ways did not re-emerge. Yes, I bought some clothes to refresh my wardrobe for an office environment, but it was more a task than leisure activity. Instead, I explored my new surroundings, spent time with new friends, traveled, read, and photographed. In fact, it was in Indonesia that I renewed my passion for photography. Don't get me wrong, a cute pair of shoes still brings a smile to my face, but if I already have similar ones, I can pass them up.

So how do you reset your new normal, short of ditching your family and moving to an African village? First of all, I'm not talking about a drastic alteration (for most). I for one would have a hard time parting with my mobile phone. But we can all set a new personal standard for what we need to be content. Here are a few ideas:

• Read this excellent, non-preachy guide (with cartoons!) to reducing your consumerism: Affluenza
• Join (or at least explore) the simplicity movement. Read more here: Voluntary simplicity movement re-emerges and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_living
• Get a fresh perspective: spend a night volunteering at a homeless shelter instead of lining up for deals. This will give you a whole new appreciation for the word need.
• Make a list of the things you really want and then put off buying them for 3, 6 or 12 months (or ever), and I'm talking about a flat screen TV or that third pair of black heels, not health insurance. It may seem painful at first, but you may see over time that you don't miss the items.
• Don't fill your leisure time with consumerism. Pick something you love to do - cycling, writing, photography - and do that instead. Yes, you may have to make some initial investments (don't use it as an excuse to gear up), but in the long run you'll have a much healthier and less expensive hobby than going to the mall.

I hope you will find, like I did, that it's not only easy to pass by a "Sale" sign, but it can actually make you feel freer. And as you find your new normal, appreciate a simpler life with less waste and less impact on the environment. Think of it as an added bonus.

(1) Walmart Employee Trampled to Death

oh happy day

My dear friend Emily thought I went a little off the rails with my last post. Fair enough and she has a pretty wide perspective in this area having grown up under martial law in the Philippines and living in the States since her teens. But really, who could possibly trust this administration after the horrors of the last 8 years? Thankfully, few did. My concern lessened as each major broadcaster posted 800 numbers for voters to call if they faced problems at the polls. The feigned outrage over ACORN voter fraud turned into real outrage over the nefarious acts committed by the Republican Party during the last two presidential elections which gave us, in my opinion, an illegitimate government for the last two terms.

Alas, that is the past. (At least until the next election.) It's been four weeks since Election Day - one for which I came home and campaigned, because how could I not? I have yet to read an account of the momentous day with dry eyes. Jubilation doesn't quite fit my mood. It is more a sense of profound relief and gratitude that our long, national nightmare will finally end.

Relief has turned to a cautious optimism. Can we really restore our constitution? Our rights to privacy, freedom of speech, and due process for all whom we detain? Can we seek a multi-sectoral approach to simultaneously solve our energy, economic, and environmental crises? Can we really be released from the death grip of the Religious Right and lift the ban on stem cell research to give hope back to millions suffering from potentially curable diseases? And lift the Global Gag Rule that prevents non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from even talking about abortion if they receive US funds even if the funds are not used for abortion services but rather for pre-natal care, contraception or medication to prevent mother-to-child AIDS transmission? Can we really hope that the tools for national security include the proactive deployment of diplomacy and aid and that these are not simply incorporated as an afterthought to "win the hearts and minds" of the citizens of countries we have ravaged with our military might or used to force the "values" of a vocal American minority on the desperately needy? Can we restore our standing in the world and once more serve as a beacon of hope and an example of a democracy that not only values human life by forbidding torture, but fully comprehends that torture actually makes everything worse?

Yes, we can.

This President-Elect has stunned me with his foresight at every turn. (And by stunned I wish not to imply that I could not expect this of him, rather that I have come to expect so little of my president over the last eight years and even to grudgingly accept so much acquiescence from the elected officials I have supported in light of the unyielding Conservative grip on our Congress.) The campaign was not only masterful in its success at winning, but in its ability to allow us to cast a new eye on our nation's political map. President Johnson declared the South lost to a generation of Democrats when he signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Well, that generation is finally, mercifully over. The Republican Party and its red state versus blue state divisiveness are in retreat. There is, and yet was, little room for meaningful debate, compromise and problem-solving in such a discordant environment. President-elect Obama has set the ground for a new era of political discourse perhaps without knowing just how critical it would become. For how can we solve the daunting challenges of the moment if we are divided?

It is heartbreaking that the prior toxic approach kept us from preventing or mitigating so many of the security and economic blunders of the last eight years that have led to the current meta-crisis, but to imagine a President McCain, architect of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which wrested habeas corpus from our constitutional guarantees, with best chum and rabid deregulator, Lindsey Graham, and foe-to-both-planet-and-animals Palin at the helm! #@+*§!

This is going to take some getting used to. We won. Have to keep reminding myself of this.

In addition to turning our great nation a lovely shade of purple, the Obama campaign also established a meaningful dialogue with its supporters, which the President-elect now seeks to expand to all Americans. Just go to http://www.change.gov/. I have already submitted my thoughts on environmental and healthcare policy and am gearing up for when they ask about foreign policy. The transition sub-teams also put out (admittedly light-on-substance) videos about their policy areas (but, hey, they're trying) and the President-Elect's weekly addresses can be found on youtube and iTunes. Can you even imagine President Bush asking for email advice on global warming? I mean even in a surreal, dream-like sequence?

Indeed it is a new reality. And a new happy day.