keep the good times rollin'...
it takes me about 10 minutes to drive from my house to work. on the way there are several things i've noticed lately.
there are 3 robin's donuts. 2 burger kings. 2 mcdonald's, 4 gas stations, not to mention a jumbo sized shopping mall with everything you could want inside.
let's look on a larger scale. in the city of regina, it takes no longer than 15 minutes to get anywhere. there are 7 tim horton's, 8 robin's donuts, 9 mcdonald's, 3 walmarts, 4 different malls, hundreds of gas stations, many more fast food restaurants, etc, etc, etc...
what's my point? this isn't to rail against the corporations, although i do have some high criticisms of them. but it is a reality of the culture we live in. they are simply providing a service and trying to meet the demands of the people.
my criticism is towards me and you and everyone in our western society. our culture of consumerism has swallowed us up in convenience. if it takes more than a few minutes to get there, it's not worth going to. all because the consumer is king. on every corner there is a new fast food restaurant, a new gas station, a new billboard telling you about the new locations opened nearest to you for your convenience. a corner store on every street. dozen's of video stores. and what is it we are selling our soul to? fatty foods, crappy movies, sub-par coffee...it's mostly garbage, but we don't only want it, we feel as if we need it.
i know we can't just shut them all down. i know they create jobs for people and that's a good thing. i don't have a big conclusion or answer to the problem of our greed. i just know we have a problem. we have a problem that says when we need something and we don't get it soon, then we are gonna snap. and i don't think followers of God should be caught up in this system. i am stuck, and i don't know how to get out. where do we draw the line? how can we not be slaves to this system?
there are 3 robin's donuts. 2 burger kings. 2 mcdonald's, 4 gas stations, not to mention a jumbo sized shopping mall with everything you could want inside.
let's look on a larger scale. in the city of regina, it takes no longer than 15 minutes to get anywhere. there are 7 tim horton's, 8 robin's donuts, 9 mcdonald's, 3 walmarts, 4 different malls, hundreds of gas stations, many more fast food restaurants, etc, etc, etc...
what's my point? this isn't to rail against the corporations, although i do have some high criticisms of them. but it is a reality of the culture we live in. they are simply providing a service and trying to meet the demands of the people.
my criticism is towards me and you and everyone in our western society. our culture of consumerism has swallowed us up in convenience. if it takes more than a few minutes to get there, it's not worth going to. all because the consumer is king. on every corner there is a new fast food restaurant, a new gas station, a new billboard telling you about the new locations opened nearest to you for your convenience. a corner store on every street. dozen's of video stores. and what is it we are selling our soul to? fatty foods, crappy movies, sub-par coffee...it's mostly garbage, but we don't only want it, we feel as if we need it.
i know we can't just shut them all down. i know they create jobs for people and that's a good thing. i don't have a big conclusion or answer to the problem of our greed. i just know we have a problem. we have a problem that says when we need something and we don't get it soon, then we are gonna snap. and i don't think followers of God should be caught up in this system. i am stuck, and i don't know how to get out. where do we draw the line? how can we not be slaves to this system?
posted by xblairx @ 1:10 PM
2 Comments
