Consumerism out of control

[KathleenElsie]

Protect Children

Children in consumerist societies “risk losing hope,” says Pope Benedict
…
Adults advancing false models of happiness, he said, were targeting children at ever-younger ages.
“Adolescents, youths and even children are easy victims of the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults who, lying to themselves and to them, draw them into the dead-end streets of consumerism,” he continued.
Pope Benedict lamented that in a consumerist society even human bodies become objects, saying that this objectification is occurring earlier and earlier.
“How sad it is when young people lose the marvel, the enchantment, of the most beautiful feelings, the value of respect for one’s body,” he said.
“Of all this we are reminded by Mary Immaculate whom we contemplate in all her beauty and sanctity,” the Pope concluded.

How sad that the Pope has to even mention this. It says much about our society.

 

[Sr_Sally]

Was this his Dec 8th homily? Can you post a link to the whole thing?

it is indeed very, very sad.

 

[KathleenElsie]

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11217

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

How sad that the Pope has to even mention this. It says much about our society.

Most childrens’ major contact with the adult word, except for immediate family and teachers, is via the media.

Unfortunately the manipulative if not actually deceitful commercial culture predominates. Sometime it is just little things like Blue Peter (British childrens’ TV programme) naming a cat “Socks” when the children actually voted for “Cookie”. Other times it is seriously misleading and deliberate attempts to create a culture of “cool” around products. As you might expect, the result can only be deep cynicism.

 

[Naztakuan]

how seasonally appropriate

 

[KathleenElsie]

how seasonally appropriate

As I said before it is sad we have to be reminded of this. But it is one thing we can each control in our families.

 

[KathleenElsie]

Third Sunday of Advent.

 

[Dale_M]

Was this his Dec 8th homily? Can you post a link to the whole thing?

As far as I can tell, this is the address which KathleenElsie has brought to our attention:

zenit.org/article-21231?l=english

He gave the speech in Italian (I listened to parts of it in the Vatican Radio news story) so the exact translations in the CNA story and the Zenit document don’t quite match up (making it hard to find via Google), but the content is the same.

 

[Sr_Sally]

As far as I can tell, this is the address which KathleenElsie has brought to our attention:

zenit.org/article-21231?l=english

He gave the speech in Italian (I listened to parts of it in the Vatican Radio news story) so the exact translations in the CNA story and the Zenit document don’t quite match up (making it hard to find via Google), but the content is the same.

Thanks. I am reading a biography of Pope Benedict right now (The Rule of Benedict) and it appears that he’s been talking about this for many years. We have truly exchanged stuff for relationships in today’s world. So sad.

 

[Dale_M]

You’re welcome.

Yes, our society has developed some deeply flawed cultural norms. We are blessed to have Pope Benedict as our guide, pointing out dangers and leading us to safety.

 

[KathleenElsie]

You’re welcome.

Yes, our society has developed some deeply flawed cultural norms. We are blessed to have Pope Benedict as our guide, pointing out dangers and leading us to safety.

And sadly the thing that Pres Bush said we could do after 9/11 was go out and buy things. Our economy is based on us purchasing stuff we don’t need.

 

[4HisChurch]

We have truly exchanged stuff for relationships in today’s world. So sad.

That’s absolutely true, and very sad. Its so pervasive, that I think it is rare when someone hasn’t done this at least a bit.

 

[didymus]

I work at a shelter for homeless families and I was looking at the letters to Santa posted in the lobby.

Dear Santa,

I want an iPod, a laptop and a bigscreen TV, &c, &c

I want an iPod & a laptop, &c, &c

I want a flatscreen TV, a laptop, &c, &c, . . . and a dress for my mom, she deserves it.

And so on.

Circuit City is the new North Pole. The “&c” all refer to regular (though not cheap) toys. Only two letters referred to the kids’ housing situation, one asked for an apt, and the other for a mansion
Several letters had comments like “Say hey to my little brother” or “Say hello to my sisters”. It took me awhile to realise these referred to half-siblings in different households. So sad.

I can’t imagine how it is for kids today. Last month my sister got me an mp3 player for my birthday and my son asked for my little Walkman radio I had been using. He was happy with it till he got to school and the other kids mocked him about it because it wasn’t an iPod.

Certainly when I was a kid there were kids who had better stuff and some who didn’t have much – and there was some jealousy & snobbery perhaps. But there sure wasn’t the pressure (ultimately on parents) to have the right* brand* names.

 

[KathleenElsie]

I work at a shelter for homeless families and I was looking at the letters to Santa posted in the lobby.

Dear Santa,

I want an iPod, a laptop and a bigscreen TV, &c, &c

I want an iPod & a laptop, &c, &c

I want a flatscreen TV, a laptop, &c, &c, . . . and a dress for my mom, she deserves it.

And so on.

Circuit City is the new North Pole. The “&c” all refer to regular (though not cheap) toys. Only two letters referred to the kids’ housing situation, one asked for an apt, and the other for a mansion
Several letters had comments like “Say hey to my little brother” or “Say hello to my sisters”. It took me awhile to realise these referred to half-siblings in different households. So sad.

I can’t imagine how it is for kids today. Last month my sister got me an mp3 player for my birthday and my son asked for my little Walkman radio I had been using. He was happy with it till he got to school and the other kids mocked him about it because it wasn’t an iPod.

Certainly when I was a kid there were kids who had better stuff and some who didn’t have much – and there was some jealousy & snobbery perhaps. But there sure wasn’t the pressure (ultimately on parents) to have the right* brand* names.

When I was a kid our status tended to be from what your father did to make a living. The church you went to was important as it related to the friends you made. If your mother and father were respected in the community you tended to be also accepted.

Now it seems that your worth is defined by your “name brands” and “techno-ownership”, also if your house is bigger and you have a other stuff. We watch TV and see that retirement is not defined by what you have accomplished in life but how much more you can purchase. Family is to be abandoned so you can continue to gather more stuff. How sad for the adults and the children that family comes after stuff and self.