19 June 2011

Broken Promises Ever Renewed



Worthy words to ponder...

[T]he Great Depression was a turning point, frightening workers with the burden of an impoverished free time. After World War II, pent-up consumer demand for a high-consumption way of life was boosted by government subsidies (via the low-interest mortgages and expensive highways that helped suburbanize the country). The die was cast: the public would choose money over time, preferring to seek its pleasures and comforts in the purchase of goods guaranteed to grow ever more swiftly obsolescent rather than in the search for collective leisure—or civic virtue…


Of course, the curious thing about consumer pleasures is that they don’t last. The essence of consumerism is broken promises ever renewed. The modern consumer is a hedonist doomed to economically productive disappointment, experiencing, as sociologist Colin Campbell writes, “a state of enjoyable discomfort.” You propel your daydreams forward, each time attaching them to some longed-for object, a sofa, CD player, kitchen, sports car, only to unhook the desires from the objects once they are in hand. Even high-end durable goods quickly outwear the thrill of their early arrival, leaving consumers bored—and available. After each conquest comes a sense of only limited satisfaction—and the question, what next?


~ Todd Gitlin,


There is only one pleasure worth all the pain and joy we can give: the glory of God. The one inexhaustible satisfaction, the one fulfillment that saturates every particle of the soul.

The one true promise ever renewed.


HT: Tim Challies





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1 comment:

Annesta said...

Great thoughts today Sharaya especially in light of a piece I saw this morning on the news. It was highlighting haute, designer baby and toddler clothes! They even showed little ones modeling them down a runway. I was appalled. The reporter interviewed one family on the street and I was so proud of what the mom said. She explained to the reporter that she would never, ever spend such money (even if she had it) on expensive clothes for her three children. She went on to say that she tries to get all of their clothes at thrift stores because she does not want her kids to fall into materialism.
It is always lovely to visit your site and discover a new morsel to sink my teeth into.
Wishing you a lovely Sabbath rest.
~a