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Affluenza
2007-12-19 00:25:00 Hi there and let me start by wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas! - It's nearly upon us! "You don't know how lucky you are!" was a regular put-down directed by my parents at me as I was growing up. It was a critical remark used particularly when I wanted something new, or was bored with what I was doing. Once it had passed my parents' lips, the line had been drawn and I knew a lecture would soon follow on the subject of how much we had, compared to how little they had in the earlier part of their lives. My parents were right, their generation had grown up during the war, with the real fear of air raids and the restricted diet and lifestyle associated with rationing. And the hardships suffered by their parents was greater still. With many more lifestyle choices, a higher standard of living and more disposable income, we have never had it so good and yet greater numbers are suffering serious emotional distress. It is reported tha...
It's that 'affluenza' time of year again
2007-11-06 23:10:00 Today I read a wonderful article that every parent and future parent should read. If you haven't had the experience yourself, then no doubt you've been shopping around Thanksgiving and Christmas time and seen children crying, yelling, scratching, etc., because their parents will not get them that one toy that they HAVE to have. Well I've just learned that there is a name for this sort of behavior - affluenza. The term affluenza is used to describe how our children are growing up in a world where they are constantly bombarded with consumerism. It's not only manifest in advertiser's commercials or on billboards, but on the TV shows our kids watch. The article gives examples like "The Simple Life" or "My Super Sweet 16", but there are plenty more. Think of the way we and our children are subjected to the excesses of celebrities and sports figures on TV shows where they proudly parade their possessions. Or consider that many kids would rather watch reality shows about spoile...
It's that 'affluenza' time of year again
2007-11-06 23:10:00 Today I read a wonderful article that every parent and future parent should read. If you haven't had the experience yourself, then no doubt you've been shopping around Thanksgiving and Christmas time and seen children crying, yelling, scratching, etc., because their parents will not get them that one toy that they HAVE to have. Well I've just learned that there is a name for this sort of behavior - affluenza. The term affluenza is used to describe how our children are growing up in a world where they are constantly bombarded with consumerism. It's not only manifest in advertiser's commercials or on billboards, but on the TV shows our kids watch. The article gives examples like "The Simple Life" or "My Super Sweet 16", but there are plenty more. Think of the way we and our children are subjected to the excesses of celebrities and sports figures on TV shows where they proudly parade their possessions. Or consider that many kids would rather watch reality shows about spoile...
Waking Up from our Affluenza: Mass Consumption and Farmer Suicide
2007-10-14 15:43:00 Is there a connection between the two?US Photographer Chris Jordan talks about the collective impact of individual choices in our consumer culture littering the planet and our habitat with massive waste. But are we choosing? Choice requires reflection. Watch the PBS video, see the last 3 minutes a few times.One of his images called "Prison Uniforms, 2007" depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005. "We have the largest prison population of any country on earth. There's also no other country that has that percentage of its population in jail. And that includes all of the dictatorships that we think of as the enemies of freedom." - Chris jordanA debt-based, usury based, fractional-reserve based monetary system keeps the system of mindless production and consumption growing exponentially. People lose their freedom of choice. All our media, academia, think tanks, political-economic institutions are feeding this mindless system ...
Welfare, si' al 70-80%. Sindacati: alta affluenza, oltre 5 mln al voto. se
2007-10-10 23:04:00 Sindacati: alta affluenza, oltre 5 mln al voto. se fosse cos' anche per il PD sarebbe più bello.(ANSA) - ROMA, 10 OTT - Il protocollo sul welfare supera la prova: secondo i primi dati diffusi da Cgil-Cisl-Uil il si' avrebbe raccolto tra il 70 e l'80%. I risultati sono ancora parziali, emerge pero' una bocciatura del protocollo solo dal Gruppo Fiat e da alcune grandi fabbriche metalmeccaniche mentre dal resto dell'industria e del terziario il si' passa con una larga maggioranza. I sindacati sottolineano l'alta affluenza: hanno votato oltre 5mln di lavoratori, pensionati, precari e disoccupati.
By: pasquale orlando
WELFARE, EPIFANI:BUONI SEGNO AFFLUENZA REFERENDUM,BELLA GIORNATA
2007-10-08 16:55:00 Roma, 8 ott. (Apcom) - Al referendum sul protocollo del Welfare ci sono "buoni segnali di affluenza". Lo ha detto il segretario generale della Cgil, Guglielmo Epifani, a margine di un'audizione sulla Finanziaria in Senato, sottolineando che quella di oggi è "una bella giornata per il sindacato, i lavoratori e il Paese". L'importante - ha aggiunto il leader della Cgil - è che ci sia una partecipazione alta e convinta. Quando dai la parola ai lavoratori e ai pensionati li fai protagonisti, li fai sentire parte delle scelte che li riguardano. In questo modo i problemi possono essere superati". Secondo Epifani "la partecipazione al voto è segno che una gran parte del Paese non si rassegna e lotta e si batte perché il mondo del lavoro torni a essere centrale".
By: pasquale orlando
Beware the Affluenza Virus
2007-01-26 17:01:03 times;">LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Beware the Affluenza Virus. An epidemic of mindless consumerism is sweeping the world with the compulsive pursuit of money and possessions making people richer but sadder. That is the stark warning issued by best-selling British psychologist Oliver James after a “mind tour” of seven countries chronicling how depression envelopes the affluent. “We have become addicted to having rather than being and confusing our needs with our wants,” he told Reuters in an interview to mark publication on Thursday of “Affluenza.” Globe-trotting from New York to Sydney, Singapore and Shanghai via Copenhagen, Moscow and Auckland, he concluded after interviewing 240 people that “selfish capitalism” has run riot. Bigger houses, more cars, larger televisions, younger faces — these goals are frenetically pursued by middle-class workaholics afflicted by “Affluenza.” “Studies in lots of different nation... |
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