Some thoughts on consumerist culture, drawing from some poignant quotes by Chuck Palahniuk:
“You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”
"We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like."
“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
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The nature of our everyday life is for the most part constructed on the foundations of consumerism, in conjunction with the endless chase of ideals that are promoted through mass media and culture.
Every day we are bombarded with thousands of images and advertisements that promote certain role models and lifestyles, striving to make us feel insecure about who we are and how we live and therefore as a consequence create new needs for us that can only be fulfilled by non-other way than consumption of the specific products they expose us to.
By coming to the conclusion that society is wrong, you also admit that you are wrong as part of it. It is difficult for some to realise that they are not just that which they have accepted and allowed themselves to be.
At the end of the day we end up being slaves to those artificial needs and the products that represent them, working in jobs we may hate in order to be able to fulfill them.
We tend to define ourselves as what we have, instead of what we are. It is this possessive definition of who we are that leads into fear of loss. What is man really, independent of his money, work, image and status?
Let me know what you think!
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Somebody has to teach Americans that we don't always have to have something newer, better every year. Or in the case of our upside-down economic system, every quarter.... Somewhere along the way we bought into this insane idea that everything always has to get bigger, especially sales. Having a really good year and then just repeating it — not good enough. In corporate America, the stock market is the tail that wags the dog. Growth, growth, holy growth, is the only thing that ever matters. Better than last quarter, beat expectations, eat more hamburgers.....
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
Agreed. Although I wish these things did only apply in America, as the mentality you describe is characteristic of the most of the western world.
Chuck P is a tasteless POS.
And one of my favorite authors.
Yep, haha! Same here.
Have you read that gruesome story he's written, called 'Guts'?
Do you know what rhymes with 'guts'?
'Nuts', the guy is nuts.
And that's probably why we love him.. ;D
As far as short stories by him go, Cannibal and Zombie are both great.
Zombie is my favorite of the two.
The story guts was in my favorite book by him. Haunted was great.
I have two or three on my shelf I need to read by him.
Haven't read the other ones, but I totally loved 'Haunted'! Madison, the kid that got strangled by a bunch of condoms, did take us on a wild ride...through hell... haha :P
Great concept for the book and the end wrapped it up nicely.
Writing is the last true form of freedom.
Until steemit of course.
Yep. Honestly I could have never seen how anyone could pull off a novel using such an outrageous idea lol. But Chuck Palahniuk never ceases to surprise me! He's the devil ;)
Steemit IS writing :D
He was referring to books though.
I guess I kind of forgive you for yesterday since we both love Chuck.