Sunday – November 28, 2004 – Salvation in Conspicuous Consumption?

Sunday – November 28, 2004 – Salvation in Conspicuous Consumption?

I noticed a large blow-up Santa and Frosty the Snowman outside a church along my run the other day but it was up no more than a day or two before it was removed. I suspect someone in the congregation pointed out that the church above all should know what Christmas really means. The church normally has a nativity scene on display and I expect one will appear before the season is completely over. However, if the religious fundamentalists really think about the meaning of Christmas, Santa and Frosty—representatives of the commercial side of the holiday—have a great deal more to do with it than most people in this country and now all over the world realize. The celebration of Christ’s birth is also a celebration of what the religions, his teaching engendered, have driven their religious practitioners toward: a demonstration of each individual’s personal salvation as exemplified in their personal net worth.

When you’re a kid trying to understand what the world is all about, the last thing you think about is work. The acquisition of wealth is likewise a foreign concept. I’m making a general statement and I’m sure there are those parents that begin teaching their children at an early age the importance of acquiring wealth and they grow up becoming captains of industry with tons of money. But, the vast majority of us learned about money through an allowance—my family was too poor to afford such a luxury so I learned about money through a paper route.

My paper route experience taught me a great deal about money. Unlike the exceptional kid that viewed the amount of money he made as the score in a game he’s playing, I saw money as a means to an end, buying stuff for the Vespa scooter I had purchased on credit from my parents to deliver my papers, 45-RPM records that I had to have, cool clothes to wear to school. As I grew older, money became the necessity for providing for my family. My first job after getting married paid just enough to cover the rent and buy groceries. I took a second job to provide the spending money we needed to pay for our newborn daughter. Throughout our early years as a family, money was for keeping the household going. Salary increases were simply a way to keep up with the increases in cost year to year.

As our kids got older I began to see money as a measure of your worth within the pool of labor all vying for work. The more you can command in salary, the more valuable you are relative to others in the labor market, and the more you can demonstrate your wealth in the house, car, clothes, and other possessions you can acquire. But why is it we need to excel over others in terms of personal wealth?

I don’t know about you but I have no idea of why I’ve been born on this planet, in this solar system, in this universe. I know the obvious that my parents made the decision to have me, but why are we born—what is the purpose of humans on the face of this planet. We’re like Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday, stranded on an island—ours happens to be a good size island with plenty of water and food that we have to work to acquire and provide for our family and ourselves. But, after we’ve worked to provide our basic needs, food, shelter, clothing, the elements you need to make it through each day, why do we strive to acquire a surplus of purchasing power? Crusoe knew that there was a world beyond his island and his longing was to return to that world. We’re not as lucky. All we know is that we emerged into consciousness within a family group, with no recollection of how we got here other than the stories your parents told you of your birth. What light does the accumulation of wealth shed on this mystery?

One answer lies in the idea that somewhere there is a power greater than humankind that is somehow aware of what we’re doing. The Greeks had their gods on Olympus, and every civilization throughout time have sought solace in the thought of some supreme being. In a material culture such as Western Civilization since probably before the Greeks, people who acquire wealth are somehow blessed. Out of millions of people picking lottery numbers, the person who selects the winning lottery ticket number is unique. That person(s) had an insight that all those other aspiring players did not. The same is true for the person who starts a company and it takes off and makes lots of money. Fate or some force allowed him to prosper where others fail. There are others who are blessed with special talents who likewise exploit that talent to acquire wealth, but once again, the stars aligned and provided that person with the gift while his peers were excluded. Somehow, the hand of a supreme deity looks kindly on successful people. The only way to know if you’re one of the select few is to work diligently to amass more wealth than those around you, for surely that will be a sign that you have been chosen.

In a world where you have no idea of why you’re here, amassing wealth certainly goes a long way to providing some sense of purpose. Thus, it is appropriate that we celebrate the symbols of materialism alongside the religious symbols. Whether or not we like it, both have exerted enormous influence over our lives.