Happy Yet? The Happy Consumer

¶ … happy yet?

The happy consumer is a familiar advertising image, according to Alan Thien Durning's essay "Are we happy yet?" Television advertising is seductive because it promises the viewer that with the right clothing, car, or toothpaste, he or she can be happy. This easy promise contributes to the culture of consumerism that leaves Americans feeling unfulfilled and unhappy. Their hysteria of purchasing does not yield true emotional and spiritual dividends. The harms done by a culture of consumerism are not simply to the individual, who spends him or herself deeper and deeper in debt. The prosperity of some in the developed world is made at the expense of others in the developing world. And a sense of a true authentic self is lost in a hyper-capitalist culture, as who we are becomes equated with our material possessions. However, as the economic crisis has taught all too many Americans, economic prosperity can be very easily taken away.

To save the planet, we must overcome our addiction to consumption, and we must change our culture of greed. We must realize that what we buy is mostly packaging, packaging that harms the earth, and results in waste for ourselves. The waste that is generated fills landfills, and also fills up our own time with work. To afford what is considered a normal, middle class lifestyle requires an individual to work twice as much as people did in 1948 (During 73). While "some cynics" say that additional leisure time and a shorter work week or year would result in simply more time spent in front of the television, the authors raise the intriguing possibility that the reason Americans watch so much television is a lack of creative energy. Americans work more hours than their European counterparts, are twice as productive at the office or factory than their grandparents, yet have less leisure time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. True enjoyment of leisure demands meaningful use of time, rather than the wasted time that comes at the end of a hard day. Sports, poetry, religion, and time spent with family are more valuable than the items that can be bought with money. Perhaps the current recession will teach Americans this lesson, as more Americans are unemployed and are forced to make do with less, and to take greater enjoyment in the free things in life.