The Story of Stuff

One of the things that always surprises me when we travel to the UK to visit family, is how we use so much more stuff in the U.S. than everywhere else. I first realized this years ago, when I first travelled there. A large portion of my family lives in the U.K. and when we go there, we live, not in hotels, but in our family home. Which means, for the most part, that we live like natives. In the particular town (a village on the West Coast of Scotland, actually) that means we transport our trash and garbage to the dump ourselves. At first, I was amazed at how little of that we generated while living natively.

There are a couple reasons for this.

We prepare what we eat more than we do at home in the States. Much less fast and pre-packaged foods. Those are available, they’re just not part of our experience when we’re there. Habits are different, and tend toward the local more than the American.

We’re not constantly shopping. We’re seeing family, visiting friends and getting out and walking more. We usually don’t rent a car, unless we plan cross-country trips, and instead rely on public transportation when walking won’work.

I think in the United States, we’re not really aware of how complicated we make our lives. From the constant “need” to shop to the messages, both essential and non-essential, that bombard us. Disengaging from the habits we have here can be a real wakeup call.

For another wakeup call, watch this video from ethicalbrand.org.

As we Americans proceed to pick our leaders for the coming years, we need to make sure we select people who will lead us out of the wasteland our over-consuming-based cultural philosophies have put us in.

It’s essential that we simplify our lives, both nationally and personally, or American culture will disappear.

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