Hi All!
I think Peter has made some excellent points. Something we seem to have
thrown by the wayside in all this discussion of consumerism, advertising,
etc. is that MOQ was meant to bridge the gap between the left and the right,
the pocket-protected geeks and the drug-addled hippies. We seem to be using
it to argue for one side or the other. Somewhere in one of the books (sorry
I can't remember where) he talks about a fox eating a rabbit. Same event,
good for the fox, bad for the rabbit. Take advertising, good for the
advertiser, bad(?) for the advertisee. I picture the Quality event as a cone
with Quality at the point on top and each of us somwhere on the slope. Some
of us are on one side, some on the other, some higher, some lower. The
'side' you're on relates to whether you perceive the event to be good or
bad, you 'height' relates to how strongly you feel about the subject. The
point is, the advertisers are in existence to sell, so they naturally think
advertising is good. Many consumers find advertising to be helpful and,
therefore, also good. Some feel that it is bad for people to consume so
much. Who's right....that's pretty gray. Face it, today's society is driven
by consumption. Changing society as a whole is practically impossible.
Changing it a person at a time is a more realistic situation. Having been
exposed to MOQ, we should concentrate on changing ourselves and those around
us. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Or something close
to that! ;-) Cast your pebble in the pond and let the ripples take care of
themseleves.
A VERY good book to read on the subject of consumption is "Voyaging on a
Small Income," Annie Hill, Tiller Books. I highly recommend this book to
anyone concerned about their level of consumption and way of life. A caveat,
first, however. The book is about an English (British? someone help me out
with the PC term!) couple who live on a boat on an annual income of 2000
pounds (sorry, I can't find that symbol). So if you read it, you're going to
read alot about boats and boating. But along with all the discussion on
those subjects, there is a very good discussion on consumption and why/how
not to consume. I personally cannot imagine living on that kind of income
but I would say their lifestyle has a much higher Quality than mine. They
don't work, except on their boat or taking odd jobs when THEY want, and they
can travel the world at their leisure. They have avoided the modern trap of
'living to consume' which, I think we'll all agree, is a pretty meaningless
existence, yet it's the one that most of us face. If you are young and not
yet trapped by your possesions, READ THIS BOOK. It might save you! If you
are trapped, read it and it may help you find your way out.
OK, I'm done. Sorry for my blatant advertising. I must say, in my defense,
that I'm affiliated with neither the author nor the publisher, my plug is
not the result a study conducted by the Maritime Industry, and no small,
furry creatures were harmed during the production of this email!
RSVP
Dean
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