Pub Theology 12/3/24 -- Stuff, stuff, and more stuff
'Tis the season of stuff. Last week was Thanksgiving, and many of us gathered with family or friends to stuff ourselves with a holiday feast. But right on the heels of that came Black Friday, then Small Business Saturday, and now Cyber Monday, when we were encouraged to stuff our shopping carts, both physical and virtual, with even more stuff. Stuff for ourselves, stuff for others, stuff for the sake of stuff.
If you want to take a deeper dive, check out the short, 20-minute film called "The Story of Stuff." The whole thing is interesting, but a central part of the argument is that the pattern of consumption that generates all our stuff is the product of a modern economic system that has only been in place since the 1950s. Between the twin forces of planned obsolescence and the more powerful perceived obsolescence, we are driven to acquire (and then just as quickly discard) more and more and more stuff. And the negative impacts of all of this, on the environment in particular, are largely kept hidden from us.
So let's talk about our relationship with stuff. Are you a minimalist when it comes to stuff, or do like your stuff and plenty of it? What do you think is behind your attitude toward the stuff in your life? Do you ever think about the impact of the stuff you acquire, especially on the environment? But what about its impact on our daily lives? One of the arguments of the film is that our need to acquire more and more stuff forces us to work longer, and harder, to afford the things we want, but at the expense of things that can really make us happy, like spending time in nature, or making connection with others, or having experiences, or just sitting peacefully by ourselves. Do you find this to be true for yourself? Does the pursuit of stuff get in the way of more important things for you? What do you think you can do about that?
Join us for the conversation this Tuesday, Dec. 3, starting at 7pm at Casa Real in downtown Oxford. We've got stuff to talk about.
