Online Shopping and The Story of Stuff

Let's just face it, for a lot of Americans, we have too much stuff. This thinking began awhile back for me, but today I was reminded again by my little email subscription I have to Dr. Mercola's articles. His article began explaining that research is out that online shopping actually is better for the environment/waste than direct shopping. To me this is somewhat surprising, but not really. I guess it is a little depressing because I think we have dehumanized so many things in today's society that shopping too now is something you can do without having any contact with another person. Regardless, it is better for the environment so I will definitely try a bit harder to do the shopping I can from online.

The main point though is that Dr. Mercola suggested the "uh, DUH!" advice of just consuming less in general. Uh, Duh. But really, do people think about this? In the video link (which you should watch) called The Story of Stuff, Anne Leonard mentions that only 1% of the items we buy will be used after 6 months, the other 99% are thrown away. That is sick. I can't even fathom if most everything I purchased was not used 6 months from today. I know that I personally have thought about consumption because I don't have room in my apartment for anything new. I am a pack rat who does not really like to throw anything out (if there is an empty wine bottle or a shirt too small, I will find a use for it...or so I say and it sits in the corner waiting sadly for inspiration to dawn on me). So anyway this mentality I have has sort of helped me curb buying lots of stuff I don't need-- you can imagine what would happen if I kept buying "stuff" I didn't need ALL the time (you get closets packed full of crap, and those were filled years ago so I can't do the overconsumption thing anymore). Luckily I never bought into technology much, it was way too expensive (I could find other uses for the money) and I don't like being in on things that are subject to change at the drop of a hat. I have enough change and transformation to deal with that I don't need to add fancy cell phones, ipods, and the latest computer software to my already overworked brain's list of things to keep up on.

So the moral of the story is to watch the video. It is 20 minutes long but it is really good material and easy to understand. It is a life long lesson we all need to adopt. Add "consume less" to your New Years Resolutions and your life :)

To give you more action-based suggestions that will help you actually live out the idea of "consuming less," check out the video's ideas, here.

SiCKO

Last week SiCKO arrived in the mail, and I had no idea about this movie. I had heard about it in casual conversation once or twice from a classmate in my Holistic Health program awhile back, but I didn't think much on it afterward. I guess my boyfriend had also heard of the movie and put it on his Blockbuster queue, so I had the opportunity to watch it a couple nights ago. He told me before going into it that I would have to take a deep breath and not get too taken away with the ideas in the film. Needless to say, I loved the movie, despite its somewhat horrifying ideas.

I don't want to speak too much on the movie because I think it is something all American people should experience for themselves. However I do want to say a few things.

1) Of course, there are 1,000 things people seem to find bothersome about Michael Moore. The fact alone that he is overweight and criticizing American health care is a bit hypocritical in itself, however removing him from the picture and also looking at the points in the film that are being raised, you cannot deny that this documentary has a loud and strong message that needs to be heard. Nowadays with the media and all sides of a story being uncovered, you can find upsetting facts that go both ways. Yet, just because you don't like a person or what you think they represent, does not mean that they don't bring forward some strong and valid points of reflection. I am not saying I agree with all parts of this movie. However, this film unfortunately resonated with me and touched me personally so I wanted to post it here for those of you who maybe haven't heard about the film.

2) Secondly, this blog dedicates itself to causes that affect the health/environment of all beings, and this movie's message works nicely with the theme of this blog. The health of a nation is going to affect not only ourselves, our community, and our country, but it affects the whole planet too. With America being such a strong influence and leaving a profound impact on the planet, imagine what a healthy American people would look like? Do you think we would be so keen on doing half of the insensitive things we do in our business endeavors, daily operations, etc.? Do you think we would rank so poorly on the GNH (Gross National Happiness, see: article here)? I believe how we treat our sick people and our impoverished people says a lot about what America represents. This idea is something that I find myself thinking about a lot in my program of study and my daily life. I think this movie gives more food for thought about our responsibility as citizens of our country and just as importantly our country's responsibility for us, its citizens.

3) To finish, this movie is something that might make you quite angry. I always knew that health insurance was a sort of unnecessary middle man, but this film really does make you feel sick after seeing what people do for more money and power. To watch doctors crying and confessing that they deny life-saving services to people because it would cost their business too much money is something that we all must acknowledge is true about the way our health care system can work. Make sure that when you watch this film that you are strong and can still find room in your heart to love the ideals that America stands for. Rather than becoming anti-American, it is important, for me, to be pro-American and rather redefine what patriotism should look like for our country. Our country allows a movie like SiCKO to be produced, and that we even have access to this knowledge and information is quite amazing. Therefore, for me, as an American I feel I owe it to myself and America to be educated. That is why I feel like the first step here is to see the film. Take from it what you will, and maybe you will get passionate about the cause and bring some sort of action in your life to help America move toward universal health care. This movie has reinforced my desire to begin volunteering at a health crisis center.

That's all.