Christian Discipleship in a Consumer Society Journal

So here's the dilliyo (using that word makes me pretty hip right?) This semester at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, where I'm currently a Senior in their Masters of Divinity program, I'm taking an ethics course entitled "Christian Discipleship in a Consumer Society" with Professor John Hoffmeyer. The 'Hoff is fantastic, as is the course so far... we've talked a lot about how in our modern consumer society (it hasn't always been this way), we don't really practice "materialism" in the strict sense at all... while we keep buying way more than we need, we're primarily doing so to purchase emotions and experiences we desire. This fact definitely has implications for those going into ordained ministry, as a central part of our job is helping folks discover, learn and experience God's love in loving communities.

One assignment we have throughout the semester is maintaining a journal where we note advertisements we encounter, insights we have about consumerism, and the like. I figured why not make this journal public, with the hope that it might spark some further conversation both with my fellow Christians and folks currently outside faith communities as well. So here it is... what follows is a blog style page chronically what I experience this semester as I critically confront the consumer society all around us. More long-term insights will be posted on my overall blog as well, but shorter snippets, commercials, etc. will be posted solely hear. Thanks so much, and I'd love to hear what you think!

God's peace,
Dustin

Wednesday, December 4 A Couple Extra Bits of Information
Statistics on use of the #GivingTuesday hashtag.

Christkind was the Lutheran alternative to veneration of Saint Nicholas on December 6, as proposed by Luther and still actively recognized in parts of Austria and Germany. Check out this links for more information:
- Saving Christkind from Santa Claus
- Christchild Prevails over Santa Claus
- Christkind vs. Santa Clause












Sunday, November 24 The Only Nativity Scene I've Ever Felt Comfortable With


As we celebrate the Feast Day of Christ the King and begin preparations for the expectant, hopeful season of Advent, many folks (both Christian and otherwise) are probably not looking forward to the fact that Advent/ "the holiday season" is a time of the year when America's ongoing culture wars are probably the most pronounced. Things like fights over whether a child can mention the birth of Jesus in a public school, debates about whether a Christmas tree or even a nativity scene is allowed on the local town green and a common Christian lament about "the secularization/ commercialization of Christmas" around this time of the year are all too common.

While different understandings of the American concept of church/ state separation, concerns about the commercialization of Christmas and the skipping over of Advent are legitimate and thus are rightfully subjected to "spirited" public debate in our culture, there's one humble suggestion I have for my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ that would lessen tensions around this time of the year... if you have a nativity scene outside your church, make sure it proclaims the good news of Christ that it's supposed to. With the exception of the nativity scene Saint John's Lutheran Church on Christopher Street in NYC had up last year, I can't really think of a particular outdoor nativity scene that does a good job of proclaiming the gospel (with some of those fun "living nativity scenes" as notable exceptions). Now I may think this because I haven't seen enough nativity scenes to make an honest judgement, but I do know that most of the non-Christian friends I talk with about the subject (if they notice them at all) tend to think one of two things about the nativity scenes they seen sprouting up around town: 

  • Nativity scenes are sometimes offensive. This is because the human characters in nativity scenes are frequently all European American (especially odd since Jesus and everyone else except for perhaps the three kings/ magi would have been West Asian).
  • Nativity scenes are sometimes oppressive. For folks whose primary brushes with Christianity have been extremely oppressive, judgmental and perhaps even hateful, a nativity scene that doesn't proclaim the radical hospitality that Jesus is all about can simply become another reminder about all the sinful aspects of Christian history. For folks how have a sort of neutral view of Christianity but don't know the Biblical stories behind the nativity, such scenes can simply look like a bunch of pious "perfect people" standing around an empty manger with a bunch of farm animals instead of a display that proclaims God lovingly frees and welcomes in us sinners of all shapes and sizes.
So, with all that in mind, the two photos you see here are of the nativity scene outside Saint John's Lutheran Church last year in the heart of Greenwich Village. It depicts the nativity in a way that culturally translates... occupiers, a drag queen, a business man, hip-hoppers and a beat poet are all gathered around the manger with Mary and Joseph, expectantly waiting the coming of the Christ-child. What an amazingly creative way to get noticed and more importantly proclaim the gospel in a way culturally translates what Christ's coming is all about!

Many thanks to Pastor Erson for sending these pictures to me, all the writing above reflects my thoughts and my thoughts alone. Please don't take this post as a challenge at all... I bet there's a bunch of really great nativity scenes out there! Rather, read this as an invitation to share some of those creative ways your faith community has discerned how to proclaim the gospel during Advent and Christmas.

Sunday, November 24 Luther and Christmas
So, since its right before Thanksgiving, I'm obviously getting in the Christmas mood. I remember two classes ago talking about how highly Luther valued Christmas (obviously due to its religious significance). One thing I'd be interested in looking up is what he wrote about secular Christmas traditions, if any. Either way, if I had been around during the Reformation and Luther wanted to talk to me about positive secular Christmas traditions, I'd point him to following. Snowmiser is AWESOME.




Saturday, November 23: Two of the First Things I Think of When I Think of Christmas
Unfortunately perhaps, its old Folger's Coffee commercials...



I don't think I've ever even purposefully drank Folger's Coffee, but wow, these commercials are definitely selling feelings, and those feelings make me all warm inside haha.

Thursday, November 14: Facebook Lowers Individuality?
An interesting counter-argument to what I discussed below about things like Facebook as a self-owned "means of identity production" can be found here which argues "We no longer believe our individuality is a force that can exist without community support." And thinking about it on another level, perhaps, many Christians throughout history have thought our individuality is a force that cannot exist without community support, and that, I think, is a very good thing.

Monday, November 11: SNAP Cuts to Veterans
Here's an article discussing how recent cuts to the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps) affects American veterans.

Sunday, November 10: Momo Is on YouTube!
A few weeks back, when talking about the subject time and making ethical decisions about we consume our time in class, Dr. Hoffmeyer brought up a book/ movie called Momo which analyzes the subject through the lens of a fantasy story about "grey men" who convince humans they can save their time in a Time Bank. Not sure I'll have time to watch this too soon, but I definitely want to check it out... think it could easily lend to talking about the church liturgical year in congregations.



Sunday, November 6: Gross National Happiness
I recently brought up in class the tiny country of Bhutan's development policy of "Gross National Happiness." Check out the official website about it here or a TedTalk on the subject below. I may want to analyze this from a Christian theological perspective as part of my final project for this course.



Friday, November 1: The Man Who Lives Without Money
Nuff said. Check out the amazing story of Mark Boyle here.

Sunday, October 27: Kickstarter and Green Living
Kickstarter is a great example of cooperative consumerism, as its a crowd-sourcing movement where individuals invest small amounts of venture capital in worthwhile products. Check out this electric-power bicycle wheel that may revolutionize urban biking and green living: FlyKly Smart Wheel.

Thursday, October 24: The Worst Celebrity Spokesperson Gig
I just had a convo with a friend about this, and he said it was definitely Jamie Lee Curtis's Activia yogurt gig... being the nationally recognized spokesperson for a company that markets to women who can't poop good (and perhaps to lesser extent men who can't poop good) would seem to take the cake. Check out the video below as well... the whole pitch near the end is pretty much if you poop better, you'll be more beautiful. A lot of times in the parish I'd imagine most educators think of talking with young adults about that particular strain of advertising... buy _______ to be more beautiful. Activia perhaps makes one think otherwise.



Wednesday, October 23: The Decline of Humanity's Greatest Free Knowledge Platform
The quality of Wikipedia is declining due to its shrinking group of volunteer editors, as report in the MIT Technology Review here. At least in 2005, Wikipedia was almost as accurate as Encyclopedia Britannica, at least according to this Wikipedia article on the reliability of Wikipedia.

Saturday, October 19: When Self-Empowered Means of Identity Production Becomes Just Another Way to Advertise
Or in other words, Facebook just changed its privacy agreement to allow teenagers to share things with everyone uses Facebook. As this opinion article from the New York Times argues, this is just a step away from using teenager's personal preferences and updates to advertise to their friends (which is something that already happens with adults). Is having this personal, free "means of self-identity production" really worth it (read below), especially if its increasing its ability to market to minors... using terms we've talked about in class, its no longer a "brand" being used to encourage a consumer's trust, but rather that consumer's own friends preferences. And while word of mouth marketing has been happening for a long while, this is certainly on a whole new massive of a scale.

Tuesday, October 15: Majority of Fast-food Workers Need Public Assistance
Al-Jazeera America is reporting here that based on recent US Census Bureau data, roughly 52% of US fast-food workers need some form of public assistance. As we think about Christian discipleship in our consumer society, stories like these greatly challenge me... as someone who only has so much energy but wants to work on improving a wide variety of my personal consumption habits, it sometimes feels hard to spend time improving individuals habits when there is such systematic sin out there I could be advocating about. To me this is a very law sort of thing (in terms of the Lutheran concept of law/ gospel)... it reminds that no matter how hard I work at improving myself and my world, I'm never going to be able to get it perfectly right.

Sunday, October 13: What We're Not Spending Our Money on in Philadelphia, Part 2
Just got back from Saint Michael's where I heard the devastating news that because the Philadelphia public school budget crisis has resulted in so many cutbacks of school nurses, a sixth-grade girl named Laporshia Massey did not receive proper care and died on September 25th of an asthma attack after being sent home sick. For more information, click here.

Monday, October 7: What We're Not Spending Our Money on in Philadelphia
As we discern how to best be and help cultivate disciples of Christ in our consumer society, its important to recognize what we're not spending our money. As I usually don't have anywhere I specifically have to be on a Sunday morning this semester, I've frequently been attending and engaging in some advocacy ministry at Saint Michael's Lutheran Church of Germantown. A major topic of discussion week after week (and with good reason) is the Philadelphia public school budget crisis. Due massive cutbacks and PA Governor Tom Corbett refusing to release additional funds due to an ongoing labor dispute, many classrooms have as many as 40 students and many high schools have no guidance counselors available most days, which will make it extremely difficult for this year's senior classes to fill out college applications. To hear some prophetic witness about this important issue and learn more, check out www.myphillyschools.com, check out this news article or watch the Vimeo video below, which includes a member of Saint Michael's.



Sunday, October 5: Consumerism, Christian Discipleship and the Digital Age
So I've been thinking a great deal about the many concepts we've talking about in the course so far, and given that we're almost halfway through the semester, I figured I'd try to articulate my thinking thus far. This won't be pretty, it's just a lot of raw, stream of conscious writing, but here we go...

Throughout the semester something's been hanging on me a bit... I sort of had a general notion that things were changing, that the advent of a variety of web 2.0 platforms and especially social media was revolutionizing how we identify ourselves, what we desire, and how we define ourselves. In other words, I thought social media was changing many of the factors involved in what we create and how we can consume... yet, I could never really articulate what I was trying to get at.

Last week, when discussing Pastor's Zandstra's article "30-cent Deal of a Lifetime," what I was trying to get at became a bit clearer. A major argument of Pastor Zandstra's piece was that we don't primarily purchase/ consume commodities because we desire the physical object, but rather that we desire a certain identity that various commodities signal to others (and ourselves). Essentially, for many millennials, and increasingly folks of older generations as well, Pastor Zandstra's apt observation no longer holds true. With social media revolutionizing the way we identify ourselves and the way we make meaning, a decreasing percentage of the commodities many younger folks buy has very much to do with identity at all. Sure, if I ever buy brand new clothes (I usually just thrift shop), its at LL Bean, primarily so I can return the commodities I purchase once they wear out, but also because the whole woodsy Maine thing is a part of the identity I've constructed for myself. A Facebook profile is such a stronger, more interactive way of signaling identity though, so if my online persona greatly contradicted the whole woodsy thing, folks would probably think of me more based more upon what they see online. In this way (and its only one of two ways I've so far identified), purchasing commodities of a specific brand is increasingly less important in constructing an identity for one's self.

I just analyzed my own spending over the past month in order to provide some factual evidence to back up this idea. Here's the categories I spent on:

- Rent: 26%
- Food: 22%
- Entertainment (mostly beer & concert tickets): 16%
- Health: 10%
- Transportation: 8%
- Books: 8%
- Investment: 7%
- Miscellaneous: 2%
- Charity: 1%

Outside of the charity number being so low (that definitely something I need to work on over the next month), the only category that really has much to do with identity at all is the books (I like identify as a proud member of the liberal intelligentsia haha). The local microbrews and folk-rock concerts can probably be added in as well as having to do with identity (I'm a bit of a hippie), as can the charity (I'm an overly cheap Christian) but that really only makes up one quarter of my spending for the month.

On another level, social media is also beginning to subvert the original purpose of brands to begin with. As we discussed in class, brands only became important when folks began buying commodities from a third-party, rather than directly from a local producer whose reputation the purchaser would have known about. With the advent of modern capitalism, brands were necessary to signal reputation of the producer, since the original producer may have been half a world away from the purchaser. Now however, with social media, anyone can talk about the quality of any sort of product with folks all over the world. Thus, while brands are still important (I'm typing on my MacBook Air right now), the consuming public increasingly has the power to discuss and define a brand, subverting the producer's ability to define their brand to a certain extent.

Two more quick points I'm only starting to think about. I'm in the midst of reading Karl Marx's Capital, and I've started to further nail down the whole identity creation through social media thing. In Marx's read on a capitalist society, the problem with the capitalist class is that they privately own the means of production, and thus can extract surplus value from the laborer, which turn leads to an increasing concentration of capital... did I get it right? If we take as a given that creation identity is a central factor in capitalist consumption, then capitalism is at very least on the verge of changing its form. This is because an increasing percentage of individuals (one third of people globally currently have internet access and another third have mobile phone access), now control their own means of identity production in the form of blogs, Facebook accounts, YouTube accounts and the like. This idea needs to be fleshed out a great deal still, but I'd like to think I'm on to something.

So, what does Christian discipleship look like in this digital age, where the masses increasingly control their own means of identity production? I haven't fleshed this out yet, but I've been repeatedly drawn to a Gustavo Gutierrez quote from A Theology of Liberation when thinking about this:
Men are called together, as a community and not as separate individuals, to participate in the life of the Trinitarian community, to enter into the circuit of love that unites the persons of the Trinity. This is a love which "builds up human society in history." The fulfillment and the manifestation of the will of the Father occur in a privileged fashion in Christ, who is called therefore the "mystery of God." For the same reason Sacred Scripture, the Church and the liturgical rites were designated by the first Christian generations by the term mystery, and by its Latin translation, sacrament. In the sacrament the salvific plan is fulfilled and revealed; that is, it is made present among men and for men... The sacrament is thus the efficacious revelation of the call to communion with God and to the unity of all mankind (Gutierrez 259).
As Christians in community, as the Church, Christ's body on earth, increasingly both has individual and collective access to our own means of identity production, it becomes increasingly easier for God to work through Christian community as a sacrament to the world.

God's peace,
Dustin


Wednesday, October 2: Faith, Sustainable Development and Climate Justice
So I recently recorded a brief video presentation for folks at the Lutheran World Federation Youth Desk who are planning a global web conference on climate justice on 26 October. What follows is the manuscript for that presentation. It talks a lot about the concept of sustainable development, a concept which I think is essential when talking about consumerism:

Hi, I’m Dustin Wright, a seminarian at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and a candidate for ordination in the ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I also recently completed a year at the Lutheran Office for World Community, a joint ministry between the ELCA and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that carries on advocacy work at the United Nations in New York City. One focus area throughout my last year in New York was the post-2015 development agenda, and thus folks at the LWF Youth Desk asked me to speak with you all today about how the post-2015 development agenda interfaces with the global climate justice movement. Thank you all so much for having me and taking the time to engage in the important ministry of advocating for climate justice.

If there’s one thing I’d like you to take away from my presentation it is that the next two years are an absolutely critical time for the climate justice movement when robust advocacy on behalf of God’s creation and those people most affected by its degradation is more important than ever. That’s because between today and September 2015, two global conversations that have been going on more or less separately for over a decade at the United Nations and elsewhere will merge: a conversation regarding the Millennium Development Goals and a conversation regarding sustainable development. In the remainder of this presentation I’ll summarize both of these conversations, outline the process of how they will merge over the next two years, and conclude with some brief suggestions about how you can get involved.

First, let’s discuss the Millennium Development Goals- frequently referred to as the MDGs. In 2000, world leaders gathered together to create the Millennium Development Goals, eight goals broken into twenty-one specific, measurable targets to be reach by 2015. In my opinion this was a world-changing event, the first time humanity collectively made specific promises about how it would develop over its next fifteen years.

The good news is that the world has been largely successful in reaching these goals: we’ve cut in half the number of folks living in extreme poverty, as defined as living on less than a $1.25 a day. We’re moving towards a parity between the percentage of girls and boys attending primary school, and have made a great advances in combating diseases like HIV/ AIDS and malaria. On the other hand, progress towards achieving the MDGs hasn’t spread evenly across countries, and issues like inequalities and environmental degradation are getting worse. Every year, progress towards achieving the MDGs is evaluated by the United Nations, and now that the deadline year of 2015 is rapidly approaching, member states at the UN are beginning to discuss what will follow that deadline.

Alongside but somewhat separate from the Millennium Development Goals discussion has been the sustainable development discussion. It’s important to highlight here that “sustainable development” doesn’t just mean development that is environmentally sustainable. Since the first UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, sustainable development has been defined by the international community as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development therefore is comprised of three specific and mutually reinforcing pillars: economic, sociopolitical, and environmental sustainability. Some individuals and groups, especially many indigenous communities, argue there should be a fourth pillar, cultural sustainability.

For instance, if your country were able to immediately convert 100% of its energy production to renewable resources, but that energy remained extremely expensive, it wouldn’t be economically viable and therefore could not be sustainable. Likewise, even in a country that does produce cheap renewable energy, if a quality education isn’t accessible to all individuals regardless of their sociopolitical background, many people may not be able to find jobs and afford to purchase even the cheapest renewable energy. Finally, if an extremely equitable society is sustained by cheap energy from the burning of dirty fossil fuels, the resulting climate change wouldn’t make that model of development sustainable either.

Recognizing that much of the progress under the Millennium Development Goals was not achieved in a sustainable manner, at the Rio +20 Conference in 2012, member states tasked the United Nations with creating a new set of Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. While this process is ongoing and you can follow it via the UN’s Sustainable Knowledge Platform, it was recently announced at the opening of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly that the SDGs will be combined with the wider post-2015 development agenda to create a one new definitive and sustainable set of targets for global development to be adopted by UN Member States at a high-level summit in September of 2015.

So, I know that may seem a bit a complicated, but in summary, a new plan for global development is being created over the next two years. Whether or not it can be a truly sustainable plan that helps lift people out of poverty while protecting God’s creation is in part, up to you! First, its essential that you help educate your friends and family about the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 development agenda that will succeed them. What you’re looking at are links to resources that can help you do just that. You can also participate in the MY World Global Survey and the World We Want 2015 platform to make sure leaders know that you and people in your community want a set of global development goals that protect God’s creation. Finally, its not just at UN headquarters in New York City where decisions are being made. In fact, what decisions are made by national governments in their own capitals is much more important. Therefore, make sure you let your national leaders know you care about God’s creation as well! Thanks so much for your listening. Advocating for climate justice is such an important ministry, and I’m very glad you’re taking part!

God's peace,
Dustin

Saturday, September 28: Capitalizing on Equality
One thing we've talked about a great deal in class is that the sole goal of capitalism is to sell, and thus can conform all sorts of ideologies/ belief systems and values. One thing I've found extremely interesting is how other pasta companies have reacted to Guido Barilla's homophobic comments last week. The following social media add that went up on Bertolli's Facebook page (pictured left) in reaction, just to bring up one example. For more information, read about Bertolli's ad response here. The chameleon-like nature of capitalism can sometimes be a curse, but it also can be a blessing, especially when it reflects a changing global-cultural dynamic that values equality.


Wednesday, September 25: Laura Got Me Addicted
Wowzers... one of classmates in Christian Discipleship in a Consumer Society, Laura, has successfully got me addicted to Wawa in general, and the Sizzli mini-breakfast sandwich in particular. Having already lived on the LTSP campus and thus across the street from a Wawa for two years now, I've frequently bought things from the place, but never quite felt such a strong urge to rush over a make a purchase before class every Wednesday morning. The experience of having two warm (for only $3!) Sizzlis and a big cup of pumpkin-spice flavored coffee on cool fall mornings as I venture over to class has engrained itself deep in my psyche. Essentially, the weekly purchase makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside and wakes me up before engaging in robust and extremely satisfying conversation with my classmates week after week. In an odd sort of way, sense its such a cheap breakfast, I'm also sort of purchasing an identity for myself that I'm being thrifty. Funny how even an experience before a class about consumption makes me want to buy things.

Thursday, September 19: Consumption Around the World
Just found this amazing project by Peter Menzel. He took pictures of families around the world posing with a week's worth of groceries. Given that the average person in the developed world consumes 2-3 times more food per capita than those in developing countries, the comparison is extremely interesting. Additionally, the stark contrast between primarily fresh food in some places and processed foods in others was pretty fascinating. To see the complete set of pictures, click here.

Monday, September 16: PooPouri
We've talked a lot in class about "commercials for folks who are against commercials." Reaching those sort of folks in many ways is at the heart of viral-advertising, or creating something that consumers of the message will spread on their own via online social networks. The "PooPouri" commercial below has gone viral in the last couple days, and is definitely a real thing.



Sunday, September 15: Dostoevsky on Consumerism
As it relates to our "Christian Discipleship in a Consumer Society" course, I've been thinking a bunch this week about whether the contemporary "consumer culture" we find ourselves in is really any different than what has come before. Given what my Lutheran theology says about us all being sinners and saints, haven't folks had the same level of desire to consume things, feelings and experiences throughout human history? Last night while reading The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (I'm a big nerd and reading classic literature is one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday night, for better or worse), I came across a passage that would seem to indicate much of what we are experiencing is nothing new. This quote comes from a portion of the book that as written as the final notes and memoirs of a recently deceased saintly monk, Father Zossima, who serves as the main protagonist's mentor:
Look at the worldly and all who set themselves up above the people of God, has not God's image and His truth been distorted in them? They have science; but in science there is nothing but what is the object of sense. The spiritual world, the higher part of man's being is rejected altogether, dismissed with a sort of triumph, even with hatred. The world has proclaimed the reign of freedom, especially of late, but what doe we see in this freedom of theirs? Nothing but slavery and self-destruction! For the world says:
"You have desires and so satisfy them, for you have the same rights as the most rich and powerful. Don't be afraid of satisfying them and even multiply your desires." That is the modern doctrine of the world. In that they see freedom. And what follows from this right of multiplication of desires? In the rich, isolation and spiritual suicide; in the poor, envy and murder; for they have been given rights, but have not been shown the means of satisfying their wants. They maintain that the world is getting more united, more and more bound together in brotherly community, as it overcomes distance and sets thoughts flying through the air.
Alas, put no faith in such a bond of union. Interpreting freedom as the multiplication and rapid satisfaction of desires and habits and ridiculous fancies are fostered in them. They live only for mutual envy, for luxury and ostentation... For how can a man shake off his habits, what can become of him if he is in such bondage to the habit of satisfying the innumerable desires he has created for himself? He is isolated, and what concern has he with the rest of humanity? They have succeeded in accumulating a greater mass of objects, but the joy in the world has grown less (Dostoevsky 288 - 289).
Is our experience as Christians any different than Father Zossima's (and Dostoevsky's) nearly 150 years ago? I honestly doubt it at this point. If there is any difference however, it seems like it might be a positive. Father Zossima laments that his wider society has rejected the spiritual world entirely in favor of the material. As we've talked a great deal about in our course already however, in our contemporary world, we're often sold or pursue material in order to fulfill emotional or spiritual needs. Perhaps, at least, we have the right desires, but just simply don't know the right way to move toward fulfilling them.

Tuesday, September 9: Dylan in Lingerie
I'm in the midst of watching a 2004 episode of Frontline entitled "The Persuaders," and it just mentioned how Bob Dylan recently did a Victoria's Secret commercial (see below).  Back when I originally saw that commercial while taking a poetry workshop in undergrad, I wrote the following poem expressing my disgust with the culture all around me, which included hyper consumerism:

Generation Gap
The waves reach high-water,
Crest and break only in sepia memory.
We war against the undertow of your zeitgeist,
but fail to find the levy.

The Earth revolves,
and haunted or elated, we're born as cement,
binding the brick wall
of our father's failed revolutions.
  1. Paul McCartney is sixty-four.
  2. Dylan does lingerie commercials.
  3. Our Woodstock ended in flames.
Drowning in sand, we wage your Normandy-
It's autumn now in America,
Gazing up together and dodging planes overhead,
we watch as the leaves quietly fall.

There was obviously a lot of post-9/11, anti-Iraq war, anti-Bush stuff and frustration with baby boomer culture stuff in there as well.



God's peace,
Dustin

Tuesday, September 9: NH 4000 Footer Club
The fact that much of our consumption isn't wholly good or wholly bad became quite apparent last night when I opened up the mail. In the summer of 2012 between my second year of seminary and the beginning of my internship year in New York City, I spent much of my time finishing up hiking a list of all forty-eight 4000+ foot peaks in New Hampshire's beautiful White Mountains. While I had been working on this list ever since I became a counselor at the nearby Camp Calumet Lutheran, I summitted almost half of those peaks in 2012 alone. Once you finish with the list and write a required essay about your experience, you can apply to become a member of the AMC 4000 Footer Club, and eventually receive a pretty sweet patch in the mail and later attend a ceremony in NH where you get a cool plaque/ scroll thing to frame and put on your wall.

As I only finished what ended up becoming a five-part essay this past March, I finally received my patch in the mail yesterday, and will attend a ceremony and receive my scroll in April. On the whole, the AMC 4000 Footer Club is a great thing, but I was definitely consuming all sorts of experiences and chasing all sorts of feelings while finishing the list. For one, I wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment and adventure.  A little bit of me wanted to impress folks and look rugged I'm sure.  One reason I spent so much time trying to finish the list before internship was that I wasn't sure I'd ever have another chance... I somewhat fearing the fact that I needed to grow up, and thus spent time rushing from mountain to mountain trying to run away from that fact. Hiking various lists of mountain peaks is called "peak bagging," and while its a great way to experience the outdoors, peak bagging also has its detractors. From one perspective, its just a glorified version of stamp collecting, and while I didn't spend a huge amount of money having such an experience, I did consume a lot of natural resources, particularly a huge amount of gasoline... it's a bit difficult to admit, but I needed to do things that hurt God's creation in order to experience it.

The AMC 4000 Footer Club states part of its purpose is "to introduce hikers to some of the less well-known sections of the mountains," and they also encourage you to join the wider Appalachian Mountain Club.  From a very cynical perspective then, the whole enterprise is just one big sort of advertisement, and definitely brings a lot of both tourist money and pollution into a bunch of small towns in Northern New England. Was consuming the experience of hiking all of New Hampshire's 4000 foot peaks a good or bad thing then? It was definitely both, and despite my recognition of that fact, I've already started summiting New England's handful of other 4000+ foot peaks in Maine and Vermont, for better or for worse.

God's peace,
Dustin

Monday, September 9: It's Pumpkin Season!
It's been pretty hard for me to figure out what to write in here... I'm very self-righteous anti-consumerism sort of fellow, or at least I'd like to think I am, so I at least like to pretend I'm not very susceptible to most advertising. A couple days back though when I headed over to the local Wawa for my morning coffee, it hit me that there's one advertising scheme at least that really pulls me in... I love pumpkin everything!

At Wawa for the first time this year, I saw pumpkin flavored coffee, and I absolutely had to have it. While it does taste pretty good, as does most things that are pumpkin (pumpkin beer, pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, etc.), I'm of course not really into pumpkin everything because of what it tastes like or what it's made of. I crave pumpkin everything each fall because of the feelings, memories and emotions the taste, smell and imagery remind me of... Trips to the local cider mill as a young kid with my dad, great-uncle and brother, where they had all you can drink sweet cider for free... holding a date close under the stars on a cool October night as we rode a haunted hayride in high school... trying to carve an awesome jack o lantern with my mom and messing up but know she could fix it... that's the sort of thing I'm craving when I buy pumpkin everything.

Pumpkin everything is particularly strong pull for me because I so closely associate it with autumn in New England. Having been exiled away from my beloved region for so long, for undergrad and seminary with only a brief respite in between, pumpkin draws me through idealized images of childhood, and even more importantly, a general feeling of home. In reality, I'm mostly spending money trying to return to place that no longer really exists for me, particularly after my mom passed away in 2008, if it ever did. This sense of denial I feel about 'having a home' fits in with the marketing strategy many companies employ of denying folks pumpkin everything throughout a large portion of the year. But anyway, as a Starbucks spokeswoman in this CNBC article states, "This is a time all its own: Winter, spring, summer and pumpkin spice latte season." Even with all this analysis, it doesn't mean I'm going to buy any less pumpkin everything this autumn.

God's peace,
Dustin

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