There has been a lot of finger pointing about the American economic meltdown.  But the reality of the situation is that everyone is to blame; Banks, Government, Corporate Entities and most importantly the American consumers themselves.   The economic meltdown is a result of a culture of consumerism gone mad.  What happened at Wal-Mart last week is an example of an American culture, which over the last decade has become increasingly centered around Consumerism, out of control.  Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with the purchase of material possessions and consumption. The culture of American Consumerism was born with the Cabbage Patch Craze of the 1980s.  What happened at Wal-Mart is direct result of this.  What is amazing is the callousness of the shoppers.  Click the video to see this Black on Black crime.  We are all victims to consumerism in one way or another.  I recently purchased a TV I couldn’t afford, just to watch Football on Sundays.  It does make me happy, but I should be able to be happy with nothing, I shouldn’t need some thing to make myself happy.  But the reality is that life is easier with money and possessions.  I think comfort is a human need.  We all want “nice stuff.”

A capitalist society driven by consumerism is house built on a deck of cards.  I don’t have a problem with capitalism, but I do have a problem with an economy based on consumerism.  It is a reality that consumer demand is influenced by sophisticated mass marketing techniques that often mislead and manipulate the public.  The government does little to regulate this and we end up with things like predatory lending.  However, the problem is deeper than predatory lending.  The problem has to do with the combination of individualism, consumerism and irresponsible capitalism: 

Beginning in the 1990’s the most frequent reason given for attending college had changed to making a lot of money, outranking reasons such as becoming an authority in a field or helping others in difficulty. This statement directly correlates with the rise of materialism, specifically the technological aspect. At this time compact disc players, digital media, personal computers, and cellular phones, all began to integrate into the affluent American’s everyday lifestyle. …….

…….Emulation is also a core component of 21st century consumerism. As a general trend, regular consumers seek to emulate those who are above them on the social hierarchy. The poor strive to imitate the rich and the rich imitate celebrities and other icons. One needs to look no further than the celebrity endorsement of products to dissuade the notion that the American population makes its own decisions and models itself as a group of individualists.  (Wikipedia Article – Consumerism)

In a world filled with celebrity endorsements, trinkets that tickle any fancy, and advertisements EVERYWHERE, success is now measured by the type and quantity of devices you own.  It is one thing to believe in a capitalist society based on supply and demand, but it is another to live in a society where demand is driven to the point of rampant consumption and waste.  The major issue of garbage disposal coupled with in creasing obesity has led to an unhealthy American society.  It is not Capitalism; Consumerism, Individualism, advertisements and fast food will be the death of America.  Let it be known that Marcus Garvey felt that capitalism was good for the development of the World, however he felt it should just have its limits.  Those limits are supposed to be responsible government regulation.  However time and time again it seems that the government is more interested in aiding corporate America in the manipulation of the American consumer as opposed to being the responsible watch dog for the American consumer. 

The US Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is an example of this.  The CCI is a measure of the level of optimism that consumers are expressing on the state of the economy through their activities of savings and spending.  In the United States the CCI is issued monthly by The Conference Board, an independent economic research organization.  The index is based on 5,000 households, the measurement is indicative of consumption component levels of the gross domestic product. The CCI affects stock market prices because the Federal Reserve looks at the CCI when determining interest rate changes.  Consumer Confidence is all a fix.  In fact, China [and the rest of the world] is also hooked on American Consumer Confidence.  They complain of bad American investments, but the reality is their economies were fed by wild American Consumerism.  The mounds of electronic trash are symbols of Chinese dependence on the US CCI.  Wal-Mart has become rich by selling cheap foreign imports at a discount while suppressing labor power within its own company.  Wal-Mart is dealer-feeding the addiction of American Consumerism, hooking a greedy America on the drug of cheap consumer goods, a $7 dollar Barbie, $ 74.95 Stereo all Chinese made, all excess.  Like it was heroin, America is hooked on the drug of cheap consumer goods. 

Rugged Individualist Consumerism can be the only thing to describe what happened on Black Friday at the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream.  Just for the simple promise of purchasing a 42 inch flat screen HDTV for under $600 a part time Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death.  Wal-Mart floated a story that he died in the hospital after suffering a heart attack, but the autopsy showed that Jdimytai Damour died because he was trampled to death.  The conduct of the people was deplorable, and when looking at the video it is Black

people; Black on Black crime, all in the pursuit of a 40 inch HDTV.  A man is being trampled and people did not care to pause, all they thought about were purchasing products which would make them happy. Madness!!!

the melee began right after a Wal-Mart employee told the crowd the store would open early. The employee then said it was a joke. This angered the crowd, leading to people trying to rush the store……Amid the chaos in Valley Stream, shoppers were asked to leave by other store workers, some of them crying, said Cribbs. Others ignored the pleas that they stop shopping, move to the front of the store and exit, she said. "They kept shopping. It's not right," (Newsday.com  11/28/208)

My only question is: What will Black America morph into now that we have a Black President? Will we continue to revel in our Rugged Individualist Consumerism; happy to grin our shinning teeth in a pile of technological bible babble while the rest of the world is suffering, and the vast majority of Black children remain trapped in decrepit school systems? Or will we become a responsible force of good to the world, and impose upon America our African socialist values of sharing, loving and caring for thy neighbor. 

Happy Holidays, BlackBallot.com.