In this next piece, I’m concentrating more on the fact that bottled water is considered part of an “elitist” phenomenon that’s engulfing our culture. Something propelling people to consume things they don’t need, in order to keep up with the status quo. Cars, houses, children – even bottled water – are becoming accessories.
This piece was inspired initially by an article entitled “Was the Mortgage a Mistake?“, which I read in the Washington Post last summer, that, oddly enough, was about the Real Estate crisis. Something set me off about this article, and I thought about how ridiculously privileged my generation can be. No. That doesn’t even describe it – we feel entitled. We deserve to have everything we want, regardless of the consequences.
The article starts out simple enough – a young couple, talking about their first house purchase, a townhouse in trendy Germantown, bought on an interest-only loan. They talk about how not long after they purchased the house (about two years before the article was written) the market started to fizzle, and that initial foreboding that many of us felt as the years edged on, and the market continued to crumble.
It wasn’t the fact that they bought a $450,000+ house on an interest only loan. No – although that was foolish in hindsight, I understand that alot of people were convinced this was all going to work out. I’ve seen my share of agents get pushy about houses and loans and the “great deal” you were getting.
What enraged me was how, at times, the article took a turn into selfish-land: the author talks about how, despite their gut feelings, they proceeded to buy flat screen TV’s, take expensive vacations, and so on. At one point, as the author is weighing the alternatives – waiting to buy until their salaries could make the home affordable, living further out, in a less “desirable” area for less money, etc., one statement set me off: “..we deserved a nice home. We did what we had to do to get one.”
I cannot tell you how many people my age I know who – at one point or another – have been in serious financial turmoil. I mean SERIOUS. Not just a few credit card bills – I mean losing their cars, homes, life. Because they’ve always been moving a little too fast. Living always beyond their means. Believing they DESERVE whatever they want, whenever they want it.
Alot of this revolves around the idea of want. They want a lifestyle that – in fact – they are NOT entitled to. Yet they take it, and throw caution to the wind. The results are often catastrophic.
I think I had an epiphany a few years back, when I visited Europe for the first time (oh… doesn’t THAT sound so entitled?). Well, to tell you the truth – I saved for 6 months, skipped Christmas gifts with my husband, and then we ended up taking the train and staying in hostels most of the time.
I digress. People in Europe live – differently. There’s a distinct awareness, that’s missing in the good ole U.S. of A. There’s an unspoken responsibility – you bring your own reuseable bags to the store (they’ve been doing this for DECADES – we didn’t invent the idea suddenly with the Green movement); they grow gardens in their backyards; they recycle bottles, and refill them (it was weird picking up a Coke bottle that was scratched and old – yet new); they drink out of water fountains. They eat slowly, and savor conversation and actually sit down when they eat.
It made me think – of a movie I saw once called “Sweet Land”. It’s about Norwegian and German immigrants who come to America, to live the dream. Own your land, farm it, be proud. At one point, you see the mentality of the general population is being warped by what will eventually lead to the Stock Market crash (and many years later, our own financial crisis in the 80’s and now in the new millenium). At one point, one of the characters, points to an expensive tractor (that he bought on credit), and screams – bigger, Better, FASTER! Only in America!
This farmer eventually loses his land to the bank, because he’s invested so heavily in something (via credit), that he can’t keep up with the payments. Sound familiar?
I think this is actually the least successful design from the group. I want to rethink this eventually and really try to communicate what made me so passionate about this piece. I just haven’t figured out how to do it. 
