Buy Nothing Day
I just heard that today is
Buy Nothing Day. Apparently there is a commercial that
MTV refuses
to air about it. Oh my, something too controversial for MTV? Who would
have thought it was possible...
It seems like a good idea. We do consume WAY to much here in the United
States. Hell, we were told to go out and shop after 9-11 to give you an idea
of how important consuming is to us. Well, most of us anyway.
Don't get me
wrong, I consume plenty. Being a geek and into technology it's darn near
impossible to not spend on things I don't really need. Even so, I do try to
keep it down a bit. I haven't upgraded my main computer in over 5 years. All the
rest of my systems are 2nd hand (and working wonderfully thanks to the wonders
of Linux). We don't have cell phones except for the one I have provided for by
work. We drive our cars into the ground before we buy another one. We only
buy cloths when we need to replace worn out or out grown cloths. No closets
full of shoes for us. My youngest daughter wears my oldest's out grown cloths.
We don't have cable TV. I could go on, but you get the picture I'm sure.
Still, we could do much better if we really tried. Sometimes I feel a bit
guilty about that. I know I'm such a hypocrite...
Anyway, observing Buy Nothing Day isn't that big of a deal for me. Today is,
after all, Black Friday. It's very rare that I go shopping on a normal day but
you couldn't pay me to go out in the rude chaotic crowds today.