The end of conspicuous consumption.

We the internet generation, born mostly in the 1980’s, have been brought up in a time that I believe will be known by future generations as the era of conspicuous consumption. We are the generation that did not know hardship or strife. We did not grow up with the ideal of working a factory job and making a blue collar salary and supporting a family. We are the generation that was supposed to do better, live larger, and enjoy life without limits or sacrifice. We have been living a collective lie. We are the credit card generation, and we have been running our current tab for almost 30 years. Our parents watched as the government dismantled the safety net that kept rampant greedy capitalism in check and did nothing to stop it. They bought the empty promises and mantra of greed is good. They wanted the new cars and nicer homes with modern amenities that no one needs and most don’t deserve. They, along with my generation have spit on the graves of our great grandparents and grandparents whose generations suffered unimaginable cruelty at the hands of wealthy America and fought to create a better and more equitable future.

Now is our time to suffer, now is our time to repay our debts. We must be the generation that starts the trust busting movement once again. We must stand up and burn the walls of inequality that divide the socioeconomic classes in order to pave the way for future generations to live in a better world. We must abandon the xenophobic rhetoric of our leaders and embrace the world as our community and not just our own country men. We must not placate the racist south any longer or move politics to the center to make the ignorant more comfortable. We must lash out with public anger against the voices of soft bigotry like Rush Limbaugh and his like. We must reject spending and the accumulation of material wealth at the expense of moral gain. We must end conspicuous consumption before it ends us.