The Age Of Enlightenment

A most socially aware group of people in San Francisco have performed an experiment that proved to be an eye-opener...well, for them, at least. Liberating is how they described it.

One night over dinner, a small group of people decided to not buy anything new for a full year. Being clever and a bit intellectual, they called their agreement The Compact, like the original Mayflower Compact, except of course that the Pilgrims could not buy anything if they wanted to, as there were no malls or charming little boutiques available to them.

John Perry, an employee in Silicon Valley, says that "It is about being aware of the excesses of consumer culture...drawing down our resources and making people miserable around the world." I imagine that the Chinese factory workers are especially miserable, as compared to years past when they were unemployed and starving. Before they found jobs in sweatshop factories, surely they were happy, even though they had no food to eat or the means to put clothes on their backs. Now that they're working, to produce all those goods for export, they must be truly miserable. Not nearly as naked or hungry as before, but how could they possibly be satisfied with this rampant consumerism?

How the Compact members suffered at first. No shopping sprees, no new things for the sake of buying. God have mercy, but they went to thrift shops and second-hand stores to pick up their duds. They discovered websites that act as clearing houses for people who have things to be gotten rid of, free give-aways or second-hand items no longer needed. Can you imagine the thrill of discovering this previously unexplored territory?

And then there's participant Rachel Kesel, a dog walker by trade, who learned that other people will actually give something away to help out a friend. She acquired a seat for her bicycle, after the original was stolen, from an acquaintance who had one that was not being used. My heart's in a flutter, just thinking about it. A friend, giving another friend something for free. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I think it's what the ancients might have called generosity, or something like that.

Mr. Perry made a truly profound discovery during this anti-consumption spree. He found out that he was actually rather handy, and could often fix things. Why, he had no idea that manufacturers will actually send replacement parts to a customer, just for the asking. Imagine, if you can, not throwing out something that breaks, but going to the trouble of reading the repair manual, getting the correct parts, and then making the repair. All without buying new. It boggles the mind.

And after this year of suffering, of deprivation, Mr. Perry has come to appreciate what he has, his relationship with his stuff now changed utterly. Good on you, Mr. Perry and all your pals, but you'd best keep your philosophical spoutings to your fellow San Fransiscans. I don't quite know how to phrase this, but, em, the millions who don't abide in your high-cost-of-living city...That noise you hear? No, they're not laughing at you, not a bit of it. But did you ever hear the word 'frugal'?