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ACCORDING TO LIZ - “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” E.F. Schumacher
In a world with an economy dependent on ever-bloating consumerism and heightened militarism here and abroad, we are in the season of excessive sales pitches strung between gatherings of ostentation, manic travel, and over-consumption. And conflict as people’s expectations and tempers escalate.
At the same time, more and more voices are calling for a return to a simpler era when the celebration of Thanksgiving ushered in a time of dormancy in the fields and reduction of work, a more relaxed pace with opportunities to spend quality time with family and friends.
There have always been a few sectors of society – some religious, some philosophical – who espoused such views, but they have been increasingly drowned out and shunned by fat-cat merchants and corporations as deleterious to the growth of the American economy.
But perhaps now is the moment for all of us to take a long hard look at the values of frugality and reduction of waste.
To reject luxury, extravagance, and frantic materialism. To turn away from consumerism, workaholism, competitiveness, and other characteristics of the lives too many people endure today.
Not to become hermits or to deny oneself creature comforts, but to find that sweet spot where less is more.
Less things and more time to enjoy them. Fewer Facebook friends and more of flesh-and-blood.
Take a minute – or a few days or years – to reflect on how personal lifestyle choices and moral perspectives link simplicity and happiness.
It may be difficult against the cacophony of advertising on all the media we consume daily, when our government and economy are driven by a Wall Street ethos celebrating excess as the sole path to success. When funding by unconscionable profiteers like Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Jeff Bezos, the Waltons and the Kochs, constantly push our politicians for the ways and means to increase production and consumption.
What would happen if we-the-people pushed those politicians back? Demanded they introduce policies to recalibrate our way of life to encourage a more minimalist economy, rewarding less transport, less packaging, less shipping, less monopolization of resources and manufacturing, less homogenization.
Where the emphasis is on incorporating all the best approaches from around the world instead of allowing the most powerful in our midst to impose one-size-fits-all methodologies tailored for personal profiteering at the expense of everyone else. And Mother Earth.
More sharing, more caring, more joy.
It’s time to question whether putting short-term profit above long-term sustainability of the planet, of its people – and of their happiness – should be the norm to which peer pressure expects us to conform.
The author of Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, E.F. Schumacher further opined on intelligent fools that while they can (and do) invent further complications, “... it takes a genius to retain, or recapture, simplicity.”
When holidays should be opportunities to enjoy friends and family rather than times of mounting stress with implied duties to ostentatiously overperform, the onerous expectation of having to mediate dining table and post-dinner squabbles, why not turn back to simplicity?
Reduce drinking, which is too often just self-medicating to shove down the pain of the never-ending rat-race.
Reject the overwhelming obligation to be everything to everyone.
Walk away from burden of orchestrating lavish feasts and invite only people with whom you really want to celebrate.
Spend less time in the kitchen before and during, and more time with your guests. Or invite them to share in the preparation and clean-up. Let it lead you into a new sense of togetherness.
Enjoy slow activities – a walk in nature before, reminiscences of other pleasures after.
Discuss an inspiring book, make plans for activities based on common interests and charity commitments, and future adventures.
More time relaxing and taking your ease, less time slaving and resenting.
Some things can wait, and maybe they should.
Focusing on consensus instead of division is an art; the art of the possible made easier when people know each other.
Delight in the nuances of conversations and step back from parroting internet memes as if your life depended on everyone else agreeing.
With its increasing monetization, social media has morphed into a machine intent on undermining the simple happiness of everyday life.
Embrace the suggestion that growing a garden is more fulfilling than counting your followers or adding up your assets or hoarding them from the taxman.
Make liberty, frugality, eternity the core values for a new America: the freedom not to be driven by the almighty dollar, to live a small ‘c’ conservative lifestyle allowing people and planet to prosper in perpetuity.
We live in a bountiful world which should offer up more than enough for everyone’s needs. But not everyone’s greed.
Stop and think about how moderation, frugality, and simplicity can be welcomed into your life.
And re-order your priorities to suit your vision of who you want to be.
(Liz Amsden is a former Angeleno now living in Vermont and a regular CityWatch contributor. She writes on issues she’s passionate about, including social justice, government accountability, and community empowerment. Liz brings a sharp, activist voice to her commentary and continues to engage with Los Angeles civic affairs from afar. She can be reached at [email protected].)
