Pay A Bit More. EVERYBODY Lives Better.

PHOTO by iamwahid via Stock Exchange

Sometimes the dimensions of my personality are so out of sync with each other it is hard to imagine how I manage their coexistance. Like, how does a proud cheapo like me, at home for the better part of 8 years, justify paying $6 for a gallon of organic milk when a regular gallon costs half as much? And what about my love of frequenting small, locally-owned shops and boutiques, who charge much more for their goods than a corporate chain might?

Without getting into the details about the ridiculous decline in the quality of food in the last 30 years (the likes of which you can view here or here), I must say that my choices actually do have one universal theme that unites the seemingly opposing ways of operating:
I AM A CITIZEN FIRST, then a consumer.

EUREKA! I have finally pinpointed the exact reason I feel so distant from my peers, my extended family, and - well, the overwhelming majority of those who buy into the whole Save More. Live Better bullshit of The Evil Empire. They either don't see or close their eyes to the plain truth that buying cheap goods from companies like Walmart and others actually takes out MORE money from YOUR pocket, just indirectly (taxes used to subsidize corporate land use and support those employed by these companies who do not earn enough to provide for their families through increased public assistance, ER visits for un/under insured, free school lunches, etc).

I am anxious to see Michael Moore's new movie which opened today, but former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich was writing about the weakening of democracy by capitalism two years ago, even before the "meltdown". He understood the fact that private benefit has social costs, even when many of us in the middle class still thought we were and would continue being immune to the effect of those costs.

At the time of this writing, I am still able to make the choice to be a CITIZEN, not merely a consumer (read: media-driven corporate slave). I can choose to drive my hybrid car to farmer's markets and organic food stores, pay a little more for my purchases, and take them home in my reuseable bags. I have the time and the motivation to volunteer at local non-profit gardens. And I can afford to shop in local boutiques with the knowledge that the extra dollars that may be spent will be recycled within the city that I live in the form of library services, museum hours, city maintenance, and other things that I enjoy. In short, I can choose to enjoy the American dream, even in the face of crisis. If those who still can make this choice neglect to make this choice, even less of us will be able to make that choice. Share the American dream or brace yourself for the nightmare that awaits you!!!