MWC Corner, 

Possessions and life by Carol Wolman

Americans are encouraged to evaluate their lives on the basis of their possessions.  Do you own a home?  What kind of vehicle do you drive?  How old is it?  How hi-tech is your computer?  Can your cell phone take pictures?  And on and on.

We live in a consumer society, controlled by corporations who want us to spend, spend, spend.  The media constantly blare this message, not only through advertising, but also through program content.  Our values have become corrupted through this bombardment.

Meanwhile our schools, health care, families, neighborhoods are in deep trouble.  Our quality of life, by many standards, is low, although the quantity of our possessions may be high.

All this may change in the next couple of years, if the American economy crashes, as many expect it to.  With peak oil, the drain of the Iraq occupation, the drain of disasters, the huge national debt, the tougher bankruptcy law- the American middle class is in danger of disappearing.  We may experience the sort of belt-tightening that many Latin American nations have gone through.

Carol S. Wolman, MD Is a psychiatrist in Northern California.  A lifelong peace activist, she has written extensively on the psychology of our times. 

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