The Pleasures Of "Unshopping" . . . But, Hmmmm. . . .

In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, a thoughtful (and comical) opinion piece about the pleasures of "unshopping." With which I agree (having discovered the pleasures of this particular activity years ago).

But, of course, the essay begs us to consider the obvious question (and a pertinent one as the economy falls into any abyss): If we don't shop, then what? After all, shopping is nothing more than the exchange of money and goods, right? So if we stop shopping -- well, geez . . . what would a shoppingless economy look like? How would it function?

Don't get me wrong. I buy things -- I'm particularly addicted to buying books -- but I loathe and detest random buying-for-the-sake-of-buying. As in: holiday shopping. Nothing aggravates me more than the mad dash to the mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The exercise consists of human beings buying crap, much of it made from petroleum-based products, that no one wants and much of which will do nothing but fill landfills. (*1)

Well, okay, it gives garbage collectors something to do and they need to earn a living, too, so, hell, maybe we SHOULD all go shop.

But no! Damn it, I'm not buying it. (No pun intended.) There's gotta be a better way

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*1: Every year, I tell my husband, please let's stop with the gift-giving already! It transforms family-time into a nerve-wracking exercise in the getting and wrapping of things, most of which no one really wants. As my son-in-law said last year as we all recovered from the exhaustion of the "getting, wrapping, and opening of gifts," which devoured most of the five days we had together: "The problem with Christmas is Christmas." Meaning "things" get more attention than people. So this year, I'm putting my foot down. No one in my family is getting gifts. I'm giving the money I would have spent to the local foodbank. I'm also not accepting gifts. I'm asking my family to spend the money on something they need, and take the time they would have used shopping for me and instead "spend" it with a loved one.

Ain't No Atheists In This (Economic) Foxhole

I can always count on the New York Times' Sunday "Styles" section for my weird-reading-of-the-week.(*1) And this past Sunday was no exception: a long piece about boom times for psychics.

Why is the fortune-telling biz so good these days? Because investors, at a loss (no pun intended) for what direction to turn, are asking psychics for advice about how, where, and when to invest.

My immediate reaction was an eye-rolling "ohgimmeabreak." But then I thought about it some more. And realized that people visiting psychics are doing what humans have done since we began standing upright: Reaching out to that-thing-that-might-be-there in hopes "it" can provide guidance, wisdom, and knowledge. Reaching out to something we sense, rather than something we know.

In short, these investors are turning to the subset of spirituality known as "magic." Other subsets include Christianity, Islam, voodoo, witchcraft, etc. (Although I suspect many would argue that witchcraft and voodoo are all just names for "magic.") I have no substantive point here, other than to admit that my own knee-jerk eye-rolling (how's that for a mix of body parts??) was unwarranted and unfair.

After all, when I fly, I do this: As the plane takes off, I "pray" to whoever/whatever is out there, asking for a safe journey for all the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and, especially, the children on the plane. And when we land, I say another "prayer" of thanksgiving that all those people will get home to their loved ones. I'm not praying to any particular person, thing, or place.

Just, well, reaching out beyond my "self" to commune with the universe. Reaching out to that force/power/whatever that enables us to love (because that, in my opinion, is what matters most.) I'm about as areligious, agnostic, and atheistic as it's possible to be, and yet -- if this makes me religious, yes, I confess: I am!

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*1: The "Styles" section offers up a weekly anthropological excursion through cringe-inducing hipness, and the lives of fashion fascists and the terminally neurotic.

Why Paul Krugman Matters

Last night I was watching a news program on TV -- god knows which one; I watch a lot of news -- and came across an interview with economist Paul Krugman, who was talking about the latest wave of "bailouts" and "stimulus" plans.

Nothing new about that. Krugman is a regular among the TV talking heads. He also a columnist for the New York Times.

Indeed, he's so ubiquitous that it's easy to forget or overlook the obvious:That he's out there communicating with the general public.

Why does that matter? Because most "scholars," especially ones who've won Nobel prizes, don't do that. I mean, when's the last time you read an op-ed piece by a winner of, say, the Nobel for chemistry or physics? But Krugman is using his many talents and shrewd mind to communicate with all of us.

Yes, I know that not everyone is crazy about Krugman, who makes no bones about his political views.

But the point remains: Krugman has chosen to engage with ordinary people. As anyone who knows me knows, that matters to me. I left academia for many reasons, but one of the most important was that I wanted to "do" history for the rest of us. I know that many people leave school loathing history because it's been taught to them as a series of dates and names. I think history has more to offer and it's my mission to share my historical curiousity, and my passion for history, with others.

So, on this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for Paul Krugman.

I Have A Dream -- That We'll Overcome This Kind Of Shit

Sickening. Literally. I feel sick.

The Reality Of Mergers And Acquistions

Oh, this is the hard part: when companies merge, when buyouts occur, when two companies launch "joint ventures," the impact goes beyond shareholder statements and stock values. It affects human beings.

The "exiting" process (sounds like a term from a Kafka novel) is now underway at Miller, at Coors, and at Anheuser-Busch. People I respect and admire are losing their jobs. That's the reality.

The beer folk may snipe at the "corporate brewers" all they like, but the reality is that these companies are composed of human beings: The "they" at A-B is your neighbor down the street, the woman in the church choir, the guy you see walking his dog or run into at the coffeeshop, and the mom who always makes time for soccer team fund-raising. Real people. And now, lots of those real people are losing their jobs.

And while I'm at it: I know that many people in the beer world -- beermakers, beer geeks, bloggers, etc. -- despise A-B. But over the past 150 or years, it's been a great employer and provided millions of people and their families with good jobs. It's also been a good citizen in the St. Louis area, donating what is now probably hundreds of millions of dollars to various charitable groups, a tradition that began with Adolphus Busch back in the 1870s. It practiced affirmative action before it had to and hired women before it was required to do so. It's been a great company. Let's hope it continues to be one under the new leadership (which will likely take charge sometime before year's end.)

November 4, 2008: 10:03 p.m.

Yes, we can.