“I know a man, he lost his head. He said: 'The way I feel I'd be better off dead.' He said: 'I've got everything I've ever wanted, now I can't give it up...It's a trap. Just my luck.' ” -- Laurie Anderson, Monkey's Paw, from the album Strange Angels, (C) 1989, Warner Bros.
I see where the Pope spoke to young people in Australia, challenging them to abandon the headlong pursuit of material wealth. I assume he then flew his private jet back to his palatial apartments alongside the opulent, gold-, silver- and marble-filled St. Peter's Basilica. (I am not anti-Catholic. I am pro-irony.) I can only imagine what the humble fisherman-turned-itinerant servant of the Gospel would think of the towering, multi-billion dollar structure that bears his name.
The love of money is the root of much that is evil, Paul warned Timothy (1 Timothy 6:10). I must admit, if I don't love money, I am at least exceedingly fond of it. We don't get nearly enough time together, money and me. But I cherish every moment we spend.
For the thinking, self-examining American Christian, it is difficult to reconcile anti-materialistic Gospel messages with our hotly promoted civic shopping duties in this consumer culture. It is a struggle to wave bye-bye to all of the voices alternately whispering and screaming “BUY BUY.” But many of us view this American life as hopelessly perverted from the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of MORE.
I believe we as a nation have lost our moral compass. Deregulation has been the mantra of the past four administrations, with devastating results. I provide as evidence the state of our supposed “free-market” economy: The deregulated media has bought out and shut down all competing and minority voices and given us pap in place of substance. The deregulated energy industry has given us the likes of Enron and oil companies that jack up profits to obscene margins as they rape the earth and consumers alike. The deregulated banking industry has given us mortgage and credit crises far worse than anything this nation has ever before seen. The deregulated investment industry has given us Bear-Stearns and many others whose uppermost executives fly off with their millions, immune to the common folks who have seen their retirements flushed down the drain. Deregulated airline industry? A poorly maintained fleet, lousy service and bankruptcies. Deregulated food industries? Outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, reprehensible land and animal stewardship, and brutal labor practices.
Deregulation will only work if the deregulated are willing and able to police themselves. This requires an awareness of – and allegiance to – a higher moral authority. But the current leaders of the corporate world in general seem to suffer from spiritual bankruptcy, doing things to boost stock prices that undermine our lives, our communities, our government and nation.
A for-profit corporation as a legal entity is an artificial person, born selfish and self-absorbed. A for-profit corporation “lives' to make as much money as possible. Such corporations love mammon, as it is the full defining measure of success and self-worth. A corporate entity has no conscience beyond that which its human handlers carry in their Armani briefcases. What's best for the stock price is seldom equivalent to what is best for humanity. But what's best for the stock price is inevitably the focus of the for-profit corporation.
The current state of for-profit America hearkens back to the days of the robber barons, doing whatever it takes to corner markets and eliminate the competition, regardless of what is best for the nation and her citizens. We are encouraged to remain addicted to that which does not satisfy. We are encouraged to help spread the disease of rampant consumerism to every foreign shore. We are encouraged to adopt the every-man-for-himself approach of the soulless corporation.
There is nothing inherently sinful in honestly pursuing prosperity. But I strain to find honesty in today's marketplace. How about you?
Where do you find it hard to find honesty? In the way products are marketed i.e. advertising? If that's the case then, yes I agree. Not all commercials are fake. There was a series of commercials out over the past year showcasing the new Toyota Tundra going through a series of unbelievable tests. Pulling a 10,000 pound crate up from over the side of a cliff, and braking just before the edge of another cliff- just to name a couple. After doing some research I discovered that those commercials were really performed by the engineers that designed the truck.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the story, but that's one that everybody argues is fake. I used to have the study and documentation that was done by a professional agency that investigates the authenticity of advertisements. I'll see if I can find it again if anyone thinks I'm wrong.
Actually, I find it hard to find honesty in the whole process for some industries. I see a deep resistance to innovation and imagination. I see hostility toward American laborers and a lack of caring toward our nation as a whole. I see a win-at-all-costs attitude where stock prices are the god to whom all must bow. Golden contracts and star status are bestowed on under-performing executives who run companies into the dirt. Huge bonuses are paid to individuals who cut the workforce to the bone and leave entire cities in shambles. Oil companies declare record profits while simultaneously fighting to the supreme court to keep from paying damages to those harmed by their accidents and malfeasance.
ReplyDeleteExample: The Supreme Court settlement of the Exxon Valdez disaster... The Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil along 1200 miles of pristine Alaskan shoreline, devastating wildlife and the fishing and tourism industries in that large area. In 1994 a judgement was reached of $5 billion for roughly 32,000 plaintiffs directly affected by the spill. Exxon fought this all the way to the Supreme Court, which finally THIS YEAR reduced the verdict to just 10% of the original. For the plaintiffs...people who lost their livelihoods and life as they knew it along the Alaskan shore, that translated into a reduction from $75,000 to $15,000 apiece... and that, a shameful 14 years after the original decision. This came down as Exxon again announced world record profits in the most recent quarter. Exxon will earn enough profit in FOUR DAYS to pay this judgment. And these are the folks we want to have drilling in ANWR and along our shorelines?!?!? This has nothing to do with spill containment and drilling and shipping technology and procedures, which, admittedly, have greatly improved in the 19 years since the Valdez spill. This has everything to do with the outlook and actions of the oil companies. I don't trust them. I don't believe they consider for a moment what is best for our nation and its citizens. I don't want to trust them on public lands or in the formation of public policy.
The oil companies are an example of the new Robber Barons: multi-national corporations with loyalties only to their executives and their stockholders. They just don't care about anything else. And they control our media, our government...even our courts!!
You may be interested in this article I saw in Time magazine a couple of weeks ago. It's Bill Gates explaining how companies can take a little of their profit and significantly change the WORLD. I was inspired after reading it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1828069,00.html
Good article, Josie.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I was no fan of Gates before he formed his Foundation. I still am not a fan of Microsoft's business practices, but I do not doubt the sincerity of his personal philanthropic efforts and vision.
This could be a good start toward a near-universal corporate conscience. I believe our work is cut out for us, though. It will take concerted pressure through the voices and buying decisions of hundreds of millions of individuals to make it happen. Let's start with you and me! If we change our buying habits, persistently communicate with the corporations and our elected officials and raise awareness through activism, perhaps we can turn this ship around.
I wish I could muster more optimism. But at least I can muster indignation at the moment. The optimism may follow as we find success.
Was Jesus a market capitalist? What does the Bible say about CEO retirement packages? If it isn't mentioned in the Good Book, is it moral behavior by default?
ReplyDelete"The Market has a way of working things out." is the mantra I hear repeated by experts and pundits on tv gab shows. It is said with a bit of reverence, as if The Market is some sort of supernatural force, an intangible entity of benevolent nature that should not be questioned because mere citizens cannot fathom its depth. A God, to be revered and obeyed.
Well it must be supernatural as it creates "trickle down" benificence that apparently defies gravity. It turns oil into gold and makes Princes of MBAs.
My son has great intelligence and insight, and I am warmed by his willingness and ability to delve into these discussions. His contributions are intelligent and thought-provoking. I wish I could take him back in time to the sixties, when advertising was "cute", "hokey" and often wholesome- but always transparent- the era of advertising before the IQ augmentation of the Madison Avenue Shark. It's psychology of the highest order now. It is subliminal, subconscious and skillful beyond the comparative abilities of a Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps or possibly Albert Einstein. Corporate America employs the most cutting-edge, and I would say deviant, under-handed and "truthless" methods that the psychological sciences can be perverted to employ. They are an enemy who, at the very least, need to be eyed with constant suspicion.
How does advertising affect our society? Many ways, but one is the act of desensitizing us to the truth. We are so conditioned to accept messages at face value- at what they connote or SOUND like they're saying and to delve no further, that we routinely allow ourselves to be deceived, mislead and lied to without question. We foster no awareness in ourselves of what we're being told or shown. We are sponges and drones.
Advertising is not a business just of "getting the word out about our fine products", it is a science of creating need where there is none, and often doing so by seeding fear and unrest. It has worked so well in the last 40 years, that about 30years ago, some political factions hired the same experts to mold the way they present issues to the voting public. And seeding fear and creating need is the rule of the day.
To "get down to what's real" today in our nation requires determination to research issues, often through sources beyond our own shores, but most importantly, to hone one's own skills at introspection- to apply logical reasoning and think deeply about issues. In short, to build your own bullsh*t filter.
Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and give unto God what is God's. It's a good idea to be certain you know who's doing the asking.
Kendall--you've got it right. Think about how many things we use daily that 30 years ago we NEVER thought would be invented (or even had the imagination to invent). And then think how many of them we own because we have been told they are "must haves for this day and age!".
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