We are consumers, all of us. We’re humans, and humans are consumeristic. We’re Americans, and Americans are consumeristic. We live in the West, and the West is consumeristic.
Consumerism is normative:
:: All advertising assumes that consumption is both normal and necessary. You need the television, the car, the clothes, the makeup, the beer, the four hundred satellite channels, the fastest phone network, the sexiest partner (remember the State Farm commercial?), and the remodeled home.
:: Listen to how our economy is talked about. The declared assumption is that everything will be fine if we just start spending money. The economy’s blood pressure is retail spending and its cholesterol the real estate market (both assume consumption). Capitalism is the individual’s right to his/her own entitlement.
:: If something is wrong with you, you can purchase your remedy. We’ve surrounded ourselves with experts that we can pay to do anything we want, to fix any dilemma. All you need is the money to pay for the expertise.
:: The American Dream is a consumer’s dream- your house, your fence, your safety, security, success, solitude, and sanity. The American Dream is consumerism to the core. Even it’s noteworthy bits- hard work, diligence, etc.- are still rife with consumeristic entitlement.
:: Even our relationships are consumeristic. A consumer picks and chooses products, services, and vendors that best suit some desired outcome. The consumer’s loyalty is based on the ability to answer and keep answering consumeristic demand. Really, loyalty is dead. As soon as the better laptop emerges, it’s on to the next brand (or the newer version- that’s another post in itself). If the restaurant doesn’t treat us right, it’s on to the next one. And sadly, the same is true of most of our relationships. Marriages, friendships, business partners, they’re all subject to the harsh lens of consumerism. Do something- anything- to upset our demands, and your replacement is imminent.
:: I wish it were different for the Church, but it isn’t. It seems our discipleship has largely proven too short in reach to overcome our consumerism. The men and women in the Church are just as consumeristic as men and women outside the Church. We pick our church just like we pick our favorite restaurant. We leave our church just as easily and with as much self-assurance as we leave our cellular service provider.
I’m convinced that consumerism is the air we breathe. We’re so used to it, we can’t comprehend another reality (it’s like the Matrix). Attack consumerism and people will rise to defend her. Attack consumerism in the Church, and you’ll likely hear as much- or more- defense of entitlement, individualism, and materialism.
