The official holiday season has not yet begun, but Santa’s throne is already firmly planted in malls across America.
Marketers are not so discreetly telling us it is time to consume, and to consume in abundance.
Traditionally, the day following Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a season charged by purchasing, congested parking lots and excess. Black Friday, as it known by retailers and savvy shoppers, is the busiest shopping day of the year.
Discount-driven consumers line up in front of stores in the wee hours of the morning in pursuit of the season’s in-demand gifts.
But for a group of progressive individuals, Black Friday has taken on a whole new meaning. This Friday, Nov. 23, marks the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day.
Buy Nothing Day, which entails exactly what the name implies, originated in Vancouver, Canada, and was made global by Adbusters Media Foundation, an organization that fights “the man.”
Participating in Buy Nothing Day will be my first attempt at curing my shopaholic tendencies in an effort to be more environmentally conscious and socially aware.
I admit I am embarrassingly the American consumer the day targets.
A typical Taurus, I will complacently blame my materialistic tendencies on the stereotypes of my astrological sign. I am lured in by deals and manipulated by magazines.
Buy Nothing Day is not only about altering consumer habits for one day but also about a beginning to a lasting, routine commitment.
America is a country of opulence. We eat large, drive large and buy large.
This is part of the American dream, and these ideals have been ingrained in citizens for decades.
But our actions have drastic consequences. We are depleting our earth’s natural resources and draining our pockets in the meantime.
There are over 6 billion people on the planet, and 80 percent of the world’s resources are being consumed by the wealthiest 20 percent, according to Adbusters.
It is the responsibility of the world’s most prosperous to create a new plan for the planet, and consuming less is vital to that process.
Alejandra Armas, a third-year English student, plans to participate in the event.
“It seems that consumerism is becoming a huge part of our identity as Americans,” Armas said. “We are bombarded by advertisements and manipulated to buy everything new. Advertising is everywhere, even in bathroom stalls.”
Choosing to spend a day not making purchases is a chance for Americans to challenge ideals that we have been force-fed.
As consumers, we have come to the unrealistic conclusion that possessions are keys to happiness and acceptance. Yet the excessive need for obtaining objects leads to feelings of lacking and dissatisfaction rather than happiness.
Bill McKibben, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, reports, “At least since the 1950s, more material prosperity has yielded little, if any, increase in humans’ satisfaction.”
Even if that flat-screen television you have been eyeing for the last six months will be drastically discounted Friday, it is not really necessary.
These products we insist we need are about as fundamental to our lives as our appendixes.
It is the manipulation of extremely talented marketers that convinces us that objects will make our lives better.
But no matter how much we obtain, the fact remains: Life is about living, not buying.
Students hold humongous purchasing power and play a vital role in the consumer market.
It is incredibly important for us to become informed of our actions because the welfare of the planet rests in our hands.
Buy Nothing Day is a valiant effort toward change, on a personal and global level.
So this Friday, stand up and take social action. It’s so easy: Just relax, live and buy nothing.
E-mail Enclade at genclade@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.