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The Writings on the Stall

Saturday, 2005-04-16

chris jordan says it best

Chris Jordan says it best, so I won't sully his thoughts with my color-commentary.

I also am becoming more interested in the cultural aspects of our consumerism, in contrast to its better-documented environmental effects. The most insidious symptom of the American lifestyle may be its deadening effect on our individual spirits. Americans now are working more hours than any other society in the world, spending less leisure time with family and friends, and taking fewer and shorter vacations than ever before. A huge percentage of Americans — including highly-paid professionals — describe themselves as unhappy with their jobs and work schedules, wishing they were doing something more personally rewarding. Yet we make a more fulfilling lifestyle impossible; Americans are spending more money, saving less, and racking up consumer credit card debt at the highest rate in history — all to support a rate of material consumption such as the world has never seen before. It is no surprise that our self-rated happiness index has shown a steady decline since the 1950's when we worked fewer hours and consumed less than half of what we consume now.

Take a look at his gallery "Intolerable Beauty — Portraits of American Mass Consumption" (that is, if you have the time).

[Via Metafilter.]

comments

2005-04-17 22:46 / Matt:

i saw this on cnn. it's amazing art. kind of sad though.

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