Consumerism Drives America

By: Kristyn Donnelly
Posted In: Opinion

“Stop shopping!” screams Reverend Billy and his loyal choir as they march through parking lots, mini-malls, Wal-Marts, and even Disney Land before being tossed out by security guards and often times even arrested. “Why stop shopping?” wonder many of the consumers that Reverend Billy is preaching to. Consumers wonder, “Isn’t shopping what drives the economy?”

Well, that’s the idea, but in a country so materialized and overwhelmed by consumer desire how is it that our economy is, and will continue, having such difficulty recovering? In order to even begin to think about such a difficult question it is important, first, to understand consumerism and, inevitably, anti-consumerism.

Consumerism is the idea that the commerciality and overall monopolization of the sale of commodities is beneficial to the economy. This idea has been developed to a point of exploitation in this country and is now engrained into the minds of our citizens and, even worse, our children. The average person is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day and the obsession with shopping has grown to a cataclysmic level.

This is exactly what Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping are fighting against. The “members of the church” dress as a gospel choir and sing songs that promote anti-consumerism while Reverend Billy, dressed in a white suit, preaches to shoppers his message of more conservative spending. The movement is somewhat satirical and very much performance based. When in costume Reverend Billy speaks in an Elvis-like accent and often sings, screams, and even shakes with excitement as he relays his message to the people who have given in to the obscene desire to shop, shop, shop. The group, based in New York City, has choreographed dance numbers, and has even gone Christmas caroling in wealthy neighborhoods, only slightly changing the words to carols like “Deck the Halls” in order to make a more socio-political statement than would the original versions.

Looking beyond his loony antics, however, you will find that the message that he and his group are promoting is one of dire importance and more than worth listening to.

Did you know that American consumer credit debt reached $972.73 billion at the end of 2008? The average amount of credit card debt per household was over $8,000. Even gift cards work like credit cards. People are spending excessive amounts of money on things that are not only unnecessary, but often things that are, under the surface, inhumane and cruel. The Church of Stop Shopping promotes the buying of products made in the United States, specifically products that will in turn support the local economies. Big commercial corporations, like Wal-Mart, are very often involved in child labor and violations of other human rights issues.

Author Judith Levine pointed out, in Reverend Billy’s 2007 film What Would Jesus Buy?, that a lot of places, towns, in this country no longer have sidewalks. This means that if you’re not in your car you must be either at home, or shopping. How pathetic, right?

Marketing has also gotten out of hand. In some countries in Europe, marketing to children below a certain age is illegal. Here it’s almost all kids see.

Reverend Billy and his followers do not claim to be able to offer a full and concrete solution to the current economic crisis. The movement is based on moral grounds, and they are determined to spread the word. The amount of commercialization is ruining the country and it’s destroying the earth.

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