To Buy Or Not To Buy

Here I am in the Costco lot circling around looking for a place to park. Now I’m waiting in a row of cars for someone to come along with their cart. Here’s he comes. He’s pulling out his purchases. What’s taking so long? Is he arranging them in alphabetical order? Finally, he’s in his car. Is he moving? No. Why are drivers so heedless of others?

I’ll tell you why. Because I’m in a hurry. And besides that, it’s because they are shoppers; those greedy, acquisitive types. Not mindful of others like I am, except when I’m not. We are at our worst when we’re in our consumer mode. We’re grabbing and possessing, feeding some primitive instinct of survival or at least, deprivation.

Now I’m in the store picking up twice as many apples and peaches than I need. The only way to make this work is if I start eating them in line or sell some door to door. But I can’t resist the bargain and for that reason I am doing the patriotic thing. A little red ink is healthy.

After 9/11 our inspirational president instructed us to go to the mall; which is what we do to feel good. It’s the American way of being normal. Our best revenge. We were being told to get back to being distracted and leave all the rest to Bush/Cheney. They’ll think of something and they did.

Once again we are being told by economists that we’ve got to get out there and buy. It keeps the money moving. But wait, I thought we were suppose to save more like they do in Germany or Canada. Evidently that was yesterday’s bulletin. Didn’t we get into this mess from over-spending on houses, taking on too much debt? Now we’re being urged to stimulate the economy by shopping with abandon.

Since we no longer make anything in this country except weaponry (which is the last thing to be out-sourced) all we can do is buy a lot of peaches and while you’re there pick up an HD-TV set or a new sofa. After all, look how much trouble it was to get a parking spot.

If you are not on a spending spree don’t let it get around. Many savers may end up out of work themselves if everyone follows their example. How selfish! How subversive! What’s good for you is bad for the country.

Good Americans are bickering over cars in showrooms and getting fed up with their old microwaves from last year. With a little luck we can spend our way out of these hard times and still make the payments on our plastic. But do you really need those new. low slung running shoes with the iridescent stripes and NBA springs …..particularly since they were made in China by workers paid 23 cents an hour? Go on, buy the damn things and then return them tomorrow.