Running to Stand Still
These strike me as linked in some way:
This is the thing, you know. We have money, but feck all to spend it on, when you think about it. I mean, if I lived in Paris, I wouldn’t need ten houses and four investment pads because there’s so much other - cute - nice stuff you can spend it on.
To replace a notion of ourselves as workers who strive to increase pay and rights with that of consumers erodes the little power we have with in society. Because as consumers we are entirely passive – the collective power of consumer demand is a myth and any power that one may have as an individual consumer is dissolved by the manipulative efforts of producers, advertisers, and somewhat down the pecking order, feature writers for glossy magazines.
It seems to me in Ireland today we are not making good choices. Rather then using our new-found wealth to solve problems and build a better place to live we are using it to cope better with the problems we already have. We seek refuge and comfort in short term fixes but seem incapable of a larger vision. Our wages have increased but we still struggle to control our lives with the pressures of house prices, childcare, depression, alcoholism, social disconnection, and more, all pushing in on us. We meekly bow down and accept that ‘that’s the way it is’.
I also note there was a time I could string two sentences together to make an almost coherent point.
Mark Waters marked time at 2:01 pm on January 18th, 2008 .
