|
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 |
|
SOCIAL JUSTICE: CHRISTMAS AND CONSUMERISM
By St Mary Administrator @ 4:06 PM :: 50 Views ::  :: Social Justice
|
 |
Ten Tips for a Simpler More Meaningful Christmas
1. Plan ahead -- hold a family meeting to decide what the group really wants to do and who's going to do what.
2. If you need a symbol for giving (in addition to Jesus and the Three Wise Ones), learn about St. Nicholas. Santa Claus has been completely taken over by commerce.
3. Avoid debt. Refuse to be pressured by advertising to overspend.
4. Avoid stress. Don't assume that things have to be the same way they've always been.
5. Draw names rather than everyone giving something to everyone else in your giving circle. Set a ceiling for each recipient. Give children ONE thing they really want, rather than so many gifts. If need be, pool funds.
6. Give appropriate gifts. Get to know the recipient. Give what they want to receive, not what you want to buy.
7. Give alternative gifts. Give 25% of what you spent last year to the needy... individuals or groups locally, nationally or internationally.
8. Buy crafts and clothing from developing countries at alternative gift markets, not from commercial importers, so that the artisans receive a fair price for their work.
9. Give of yourself, not just "stuff" - a coupon book for future services (such as baby-sitting or an "enchanted evening"); something baked, sewn, handmade, composed, etc.; or a family service project, such as working together at a soup kitchen.
10. Put the gifts under the tree shortly before opening them. Then take turns opening them around the tree, not all at once, so that each gift can be admired and each giver thanked.
(From: Alternatives for Simpler Living)
Today's consumer culture presents us with a seemingly limitless range of choices—about the clothes we buy, the foods we eat, the cars we drive, and so on. Unfortunately, it also makes it easy for us to make choices that may not be the best for our families, our health, or our environment. Moreover, making the "right" choices can be difficult, as marketers continue to send us mixed messages about the safest, healthiest, or greenest products out there.
Although consuming consciously is an important first step, we can also work more actively to transform the wider culture, so that living healthily and sustainably becomes as natural as living as a consumer feels today. This includes thinking "beyond consumerism" and considering alternative ways to access the goods and services we need—such as by borrowing, sharing, and finding creative (and rewards to do more with less). (From: New American Dream Website.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|