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By kate, April 29, 2009 4:43 pm

Last night I purchased the US News and World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” because I find myself in the position of re-thinking my choice of law school and location. I despised the first process of choosing a school and now, scouring the rankings and lists, I remember why. The categories and numbers all seem completely irrelevant to my life and give me so little information that I am pretty much reduced to considering schools based on a numerical assignment from #1 to #184. I feel panic creeping in about trying to get into the “best” school out of the bunch. Yet, is number 45 that much better than number 61? And, what’s the difference between schools when we are all going to be lawyers in the end, right?

In my Contracts class this semester we discussed Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co. For the most part, Contract law asserts that people are the best judges of their own interest, but in this case a single Mom on welfare got into a terrible contract for an overpriced stereo. (Think PayDay loans.) The court ended up saying essentially that there may be some circumstances where a category of people is not acting in their own best interest & perhaps they should not be bound by their decisions. This ruling came despite the fact that it may risk eliminating options for those same people it was meant to protect.

My professor brought up the question: “Can you have too many options?” He mentioned that Libertarians would say no, you’re never worse off by having more options. But, that his experience in coming to the U.S. (he’s an Aussie) has made him think that YES you can.  The danger of too many choices is spending 1/2 your life just trying to decide what it is you want in life.

When Neil came to the U.S. on his own for the first time to attend University, after 14 years in Kenya, he said he experienced a very strange culture shock. He would walk into a store and be paralyzed by the multitudes of choices. After the simplicity of shopping in Nairobi, it was just too much to choose between 87 brands of breakfast cereal. It struck him with fear & sadness to see so much waste, and so much wasted energy put into obtaining it.

I feel like in our consumer society we are driven to have narrower and narrower preferences, always being urged to choose between good & better. Distracted by meaningless choices, say single breasted or double breasted suits, we are never forced to make consequential choices between taking or giving, participating or dissenting, or just plain how best to use our time to serve others. WE HAVE NO TIME partly due to the fact that we are always choosing, scouring, agonizing and that takes up an overwhelming chunk of our lives. It often fosters a perpetual discontent with which we have learned to be satisfied.

One of my friends has a small child. The first time I went to her house I was taken aback by the sheer amount of toys in the place. Literally every floor space that was not used as a path for connecting rooms was covered in toys. Small toys, large toys, complicated toys, soft/ fuzzy toys, electronic toys. It was like a giant neighborhood garage sale of child-fantasy loot. The small tot was running from toy to toy spending about 30 seconds at each while simultaneously watching a Disney cartoon. He would “play” with one toy  only long enough to then be distracted by another. And so on.

Contrast this with the kids I met while teaching English in Thailand. Their school had just been wiped out by the Tsunami & so they were in outdoor classrooms. Many of the kids where orphans, and very poor. We would come to class (not speaking a word of Thai) and teach them for an hour or two. Sometimes up to three if the next teacher did not show up (which happened more often than you’d think). They paid rapt attention to us the entire time. We would play games like “Simon Says,” and it seemed like they would NEVER get tired of it. We brought a Frisbee to recess one day and we all played with it together like it was the best invention ever & it was no big deal that we were sharing it between 40 of us. My class at Bang Saak Elementary had not been taught that life is a vending machine and although it’s hard to choose, whatever you pick, you get. Their choices were simple: play with the Frisbee or play in the dirt. But, these kiddos had zest for life and truly incredible imaginations.

Nothing like a rousing game of "Simon Says" in a foreign language.

The solution our current opulence of options not necessarily having other people limit the pool from which we have to choose, but perhaps for us to seek to simplify our lives and to see many of our choices for what they are: inconsequential and perhaps not worth the agony we pour into them.

After all, we’re all going to be lawyers someday anyway, right?

Comments (1)

By kate, February 8, 2009 9:46 pm

Poster from a refugee camp in Kenya. Really puts a perspective on the definition of this buzzword “hope” we are hearing so much about these days that was part of the Obama brand. I hope that I get good grades, millions of people hope that they don’t die, today.

Comments (16)

By kate, November 5, 2008 2:41 am

“My greatest regret is that, under our Constitution, the American people can have almost anything they want, but it just seems they don’t want much of anything at all.” -Eugene Debs

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By kate, January 23, 2008 5:51 pm

I found this clip on www.mormonsagainstromney.org today.

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By kate, December 4, 2007 11:47 pm

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The Latino Comedy Project has tons of extra-funny videos on their site. This is a parody of the movie 300. No matter what side of the immigration debate, or border, you stand on… this is hilarious.

Comments (0)

By kate, November 24, 2007 3:33 pm

My pal Ash cares deeply about many things. She quite a passionate person, and the one who organized the “Shop Outside the Box” parade. She is not only passionate, she is articulate and not afraid of cold-hard facts and substantiated evidence for a cause. Please read her article that touches on the factual sins of Big Box stores. You may be particularly interested if you have every asked yourself the question, “What’s so wrong with shopping at Wal-Mart?”

Comments (2)

By kate, November 21, 2007 4:37 pm

**Warning: there will be an awful lot of frivolous CAPITALIZATION in the following article.**

Our good friend Viper wrote a blog entry about the “Shop Outside the Box” parade. He voiced some questions that many of us struggle with. Primarily, is it really that much different buying a novel from Wal- Mart than from the downtown locally owned Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore?

There are many people who question the goals of local non-profits like Local First Utah, which promotes small local businesses. Actually, I think there are more people who fall into the category of economic lethargy who prefer NOT to think about why Wal-Mart would or wouldn’t be a good place to shop. Due to the very fact that shopping there is convenient, and if they “found out” it was a “bad” thing to do they would have to STOP SHOPPING THERE. Which would be inconvenient.

Inconvenient is the dirtiest of words in American society. Eeeeewwww. Why would you want to do something that was inconvenient??? Even if it is a moral imperative. We want what we want, and we want it in an easy-zip package… delivered to the house if possible. ONE STOP SHOPPING. Or better yet, one click shopping.

We have completely distanced ourselves from the experience of shopping. Relationships with the vendors and pleasure in choice. In Spain (oh no! don’t compare us to those dirty Europeans) every neighborhood block has the fruit shop, the meat shop, the bread shop and various other specific shops. You make one little swoop down from your apartment to these locally owned stores and you can get whatever you need. Store owners recognize you, they know your preferences and they are focused on service. WHAT COULD BE MORE CONVENIENT THAN THAT??? And, you can WALK. You need not even back your oversized vehicle out of its spot. You can stroll down the street, pick up what you need and WALK back.

As for the hopeless picture of stagnancy Viper (and all economists) paint, I object to the use of the logical fallacy, “That’s the way things are and so that’s the way things are going to be.” Just because economic trends have started does not mean that there are no other options nor does it mean that other approaches are invalid or unfeasible. The “answer” to environmental problems that big corporations cause became “RECYCLING” in the 90s. Recycling was a seductive red herring to lure people away from focusing on the real problem- OVERCONSUMPTION and the need to REDUCE (another curse word for Americans). Many argued, “people are never going to consume less or use less packaging… we must turn to recycling what we can to mitigate this inevitable waste.” However, as we have seen from progressive cities like San Fransisco that have banned plastic bags altogether, there are macro steps that can be made to encourage people to waste less. It is equally fallacious to assert that just because people shop this way (at Wal Mart) now, they will continue to shop this way forever- as if we have jumped on the speeding train of Big Box consumerism and there are no engine breaks or chance to slow down.

I of all people, know that it is much easier to wear a “People Before Profit” button than to make difficult choices and commit my dollars to benefit the community. I believe it can be done. I can spend wisely and support my immediate community. And, if I can do it, as LAZY as I am… so can millions. Interestingly enough, there is a national Buy Nothing Day campaign for the day after Thanksgiving encouraging people to participate by not participating. The adbusters ad for this idea was banned from MTV. Guess they don’t want people to not buy their products.

Health Care is a huge issue for Wal-Mart employees and yet another way in which they receive de facto subsidies from the Federal government by not providing health care for their employees and encouraging them to get on Medicare and Medicaid.

I currently work at a small local business with 4 full time and 2 part time employees. I am provided with full-coverage health care as are the other employees. Because of the horrendous health care system in the United States it is very costly for my employer to provide health care, but keeping employees healthy is a priority. One of the ladies employed here works here specifically for the health coverage she receives as an employee benefit. To suggest that small businesses do not provide adequate health care is a common misconception that is totally false.

The majority of locally owned businesses do pay a reasonable living wage. I make twice what someone in a similar position makes (still not much), and my boss is always apologizing for not being able to give me more. Small businesses realize that their employees are not an expendable commodity. THEY ARE PEOPLE.

Job security may be an issue for employees of small businesses. To examine the problem of small businesses closing down enmasse we must examine WHY they are closing down. Many small businesses face unbeatable competition with the subsidy induced low prices at big box stores. What most people don’t realize is that they ARE indeed paying the higher price for their goods, it is simply coming out of their tax dollars instead of at the register upon purchase. My grandfather owned and operated a local variety store in Valley City, North Dakota his entire life. He contributed to the community, excelled in civic duties as a state senator and was a well-integrated part of his small city. In the early 90s a Wal-Mart went up in the neighboring town Jamestown. The allure of “dirt cheap” goods was a temptation for many citizens of Valley City. He and other business owners were forced to shut down their stores and a once-vibrant downtown community became a ghost town.

An “incredible supply chain” is not the only achievement that big box stores owe their low prices to. They owe them to sweat-shop labor in far-away communities they also feel no responsibility to support and US government subsidies, which they use to undercut local businesses & then drive prices back up.

By paying low wages that are below the living wage for the community and by denying the opportunity to employees who may not qualify for other employment to work full time Wal Mart has caused an increase in the poor. They staff their stores with an army of PART TIME “ASSOCIATES” which permits them to escape overtime pay, health care responsibilities and various other benefits the are mandated to give full-time workers. These people must in turn, get another part-time job to make ends meet. Two part time jobs = NO BENEFITS, except for the big box stores. The families are then forced to shop nowhere but Wal-Mart (and the like) thus furthering the perverted circle of poverty they create. That “Wal-Mart makes every wage a living wage” through their low prices is the biggest piece of Rush Limbaugh spew-out BS ever to hit the issue.

I remain convinced that local businesses are the way to sustain a healthy, non-homogeneous community. I remain convinced that the tide of thoughtless, ruthless, soulless consumerism can change and MUST change. And, I remain convinced that the only way to do this is a grassroots revolution of disciplined, informed consumer choices.

It is difficult for me to fight lethargy and admit that with my choices and purchases I can make a difference. I am just as lazy, apathetic and impenitent as any American. But, this parade has renewed my desire to change my shopping patterns and investigate where my money goes. The simple truth is that shopping is a large part of my life and buying local makes it an enjoyable experience not just a chore.

Comments (2)

By kate, November 19, 2007 2:23 am

“How low? How low? How low can your wages go?” was a chant heard at Saturday’s anti- Big Box parade in downtown Salt Lake City.

Many local business owners and patrons got together and had a FUN time for a cause. What a wonderfully creative way to send a message to the community and remind them to “shop local” and support locally owned and operated businesses. 400 South street in Salt Lake City was host to a “Shop Outside the Box” parade to protest the strain Big Box stores put on local businesses and the community. Big Box Collaborative a national organization dedicated to reforming big-box stores instigated the idea for anti-Big Box parades across the US celebrating International Day of Action Against Supermarkets and Big Box Stores.

We joined the the merriment and protesting with a joyful throng. My dad in the the fit-overs dressed as uncle Sam and I was dressed in red, white and blue to signify that a true patriot shops locally! Neil’s boxed head stated, “Think outside the box.” How I yearned for my days as captain of the flag team in High School so that I could whip up a flag routine to march along with!

The parade was a big hit with the local media and was covered in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News as well as a Fox 13 News TV clip.

It was perfect sunny weather for the parade and there were practically more police officers than parade participants. There was a bicycle brigade and a motorcycle contingent. They operated like a well-oiled machine stopping traffic with a rolling barricade. Even though our numbers were dwarfed by the wide Utah streets, the police closed down traffic for our loonily-dressed band of paraders. It seemed they were trying to take everything very seriously and act professionally, but given the array of costumes it was nearly impossible for them not to crack a smile.

There were the four horses of the Shopocolypse: Greed, Wast, Gluttony and Vanity. They galloped with fervor. Another use of the fantastic term Shopocolypse is the upcoming movie, “What Would Jesus Buy.” This movie is a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (of Supersize Me fame) about the commercialization of Christmas. The parade was graced with the presence of a 6’6″ elf pushing a scrawny Santa in a shopping cart holding a sign that said, “Sins of the Shopocolypse.” There were also dozens of people in a “small box army” dressed in various sizes of cardboard boxes (recycled of course).

Part of the focus of the parade was to remind people to look to locally based vendors for Christmas gifts this season. Even for semi-posers like us who cannot seem to give up our Costco addiction, the parade was an imaginative, lively and fun way to help us reconnect with the local community. It made me think twice about local business and feel that our city’s economic fate is worth caring about. Local businesses who are owned by my neighbors and staffed by people who are treated well are definitely worth having a party about. It made me feel alive and that there is nothing better than dancing in the streets to defend variety and integrity and the American dream. Not the Made in China American dream but, the made right here in Salt Lake City American dream.

In the words of Hossen and the Bomb Diggatys who performed at the rally:

I don’t care if they bring in millions. MILLIONS of WHAT?!?

Big Box stores SUCK and drain the resources from our community.

Comments (1)

By Neil, October 17, 2007 12:39 am

I had to go and read the news. Ether this morning’s splitting head ache and dry heaving, the ever worsening weather, or today’s news worked me into an ever worsening basket case of frothing fear. Actually my headache has dampened and I’m not really that scared but seriously today’s news strangely fear filled. For example during just one 15 minutes news block I heard about the 19,000 Americans who die each year from drug resistant Staph infections they catch while visiting the hospital (this coming hours after Kate found out she needs her tonsils removed), about how congress’s awarding of the Dalai Lama with an honorary medal tomorrow is basically going to start WW III with China, about the South’s legalization of hate crimes against blacks (basically), about global warming, pollution, breast cancer, atomic weapons, DNA screening, terrorism, and that this crazy guy, George W. Bush, is still our president.

Most frightening of all it seems the largest population of meth users in Utah are reproductive aged women, often married and with children. In an attempt to tide the ever increasing numbers, the Utah government has released advertisements targeting this precise group. I saw one of the first of the campaign’s billboards and it was strangely haunting and depressing to see a drug advertisement with “mom” as the subject. Needless to say I now feel even less safe driving. (j/k).