American’s are famous for their talent and proclivity for shopping. It amazes me at their consuming need to spend, put themselves in debt and seemingly not worry about it. As an immigrant, I’ve seen life from the other side of the world. Growing up in Africa, material things are harder to come by, therefore they are treated with more respect. Not only are many African countries poor, they don’t have the means to produce, import or even pay for some seemingly frivolous material items. Necessity is the name of the game, and because citizens are forced to save earnestly before buying them they are looked after lovingly. Credit is not handed out as easily as it is in America or other developed countries. High priced items like refrigerators, stoves, microwaves and washing machines are like gold in some countries. Many people never get to own these items. They live simply by washing clothes in streams, cooking over open fires and live life with just the basics. Middle class citizens, who are able to buy these items, know they are hard to come by so they are carefully used. Because these possessions are so expensive, the cost and hardship to have them fixed when they malfunction is high. Replacement parts are often unavailable and if they are, they are usually imported at an exorbitant price. In comparison to some African countries, American spending seems wasteful, rash and unnecessary. Recently our microwave and dishwasher needed some TLC. We were, I admit, afraid they would need to be replaced. Understandably a cheap version of a new microwave can be found for around $50, but I am not working at the moment. Understand too, that we have been brought up with the mindset of those who always “make a plan”. I was so very proud of my husband when he found a repair shop to buy replacement parts. The dishwasher cost $6 to replace one broken part, and the microwave part was free because they let my husband cut the part to fit. We are used to using our possessions until they are at a point beyond repair. To us, this is living simply and making use of what we have.
Consumerism in America can largely be blamed on advertising. Slick, polished, hypnotizing adverts are made to entice the weak and the lazy. Another major reason is that credit is offered too freely where the credit companies are to blame because they want to increase business. Offers for zero interest and easy set up fees entice the unsuspecting consumer. I have often seen salvageable items and appliances on the side of the road waiting for the city trash trucks to take them away. These sights are foreign to us. Nothing in Zimbabwe goes to waste. That old saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” could have originated in Zimbabwe. Old car tyres (spelt tires here) are reused there to make shoes and sandals for the very poor. Abandoned cars are stripped to bare shells and everything of any use is salvaged. Ten years later it still bothers me to see waste on such a large scale. There are so many underprivileged nations in our world, yet Americans seem to have got used to replacing goods at the drop of a hat. “Out with the old, in with the new” is the custom here. Before the Baby Boom, the United States of America’s products were well made. This is evident by TV shows like “American Pickers”, who travel all over America looking for old American treasures hidden in sheds, back yards and garages. Any antique items, particularly American made, is in demand at auctions and by collectors, and is sold at high prices. Consumerism increased after the Baby Boom where imports started coming into the country. This is the point where we find ourselves today, having a vast array of goods to chose from that have come from all over the world.
The average American is burdened by credit card debt. This too, is another major reason why we are famous for our consumerism. It should be a natural instinct to be afraid of racking up debt, more debt in fact, than you actually earn. It should be a matter of logistics to most people who spend carelessly. “How am I going to afford to pay it back, how many months or years will it take me to pay it back”? This should be the deciding factor before putting it on plastic. Sadly, most people seem to bury their heads in the sand and face their mounting debt when a tragedy occurs. Currently, this tragedy seems to be when one or both parties lose their jobs. In this economic climate of hardships and cutting back all round, consumerism should be on the decline but I don’t see much evidence of that.
Another contributing factor towards the debt many Americans are in is that spending makes you feel good. It gives a false sense of self worth. It also boosts flagging moral in a temporary solution. Because of this temporary lull in our senses, owning something new and shiny can block out the pain of everyday life. Christmas, Valentines, Easter, and all other major celebrations are used by manufacturers to add to our confusion about shopping. How many couples are “guilted” into buying commercialized gifts for their partners? We don’t buy into this phenomenon and consciously avoid such traps. We would rather celebrate our Wedding anniversary which falls after Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately for us, we are not strong enough to resist on our children’s behalf. Peer pressure, guilt and traditions are a hard habit to break just to teach your child a lesson. For us, that comes later when we can reason and explain how consumerism and commercialization just make Mom and Dad poorer! By the time our children were old enough to realize Santa Clause is just a fantasy and the Easter Bunny is a big myth, we were able to decrease the amount we spent on them.
As we have become accustomed to the American traditions and way of life, we have adjusted to a certain point. To be fair, if money wasn’t so tight right now, maybe we too, would have been lazy and gone out to buy a new microwave. In the end, I’m glad we didn’t. It was a great source of pride to us and we let our children know it too! What an excellent way to pass on our morals and attitude. On our arrival here in the USA, we would tell our children when at the shops “don’t look because we can’t have”. It became a familiar song to us. The dazzling store displays of an endless supply of material items were beyond tempting, considering the country we came from. That rule still applies to us. We don’t have a lot of extra, but we aren’t cheap, we are careful.
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