Amazon: It Is A Jungle In There

I was introduced to the power of shopping on Amazon.com from a woman I was and am good friends with...she was buying her nieces gifts and shipping them over a decade ago directly to Texas without first having bought retail, wrapped, and then sent. That seemed like a great way to cut the corner, rather than a protracted gift purchasing project. Amazon made me a cheerful giver because it was clean and efficient.

With all of the negative press recently about how Amazon abuses its employees, forcing them to go all in and obliterate work-life balance, especially women who are moms, it makes me wonder if the issue that is driving such a Darwinian approach is actually the insatiable consumer demand, often from the same audience, who want their stuff yesterday? In other words, think about why it is happening. We are time-and-energy deprived from work, so we need to get stuff done quick and may be buying stuff to try an fill the abyss of our souls. If one finds a lion chasing you, get the freak out of the jungle.

I grew up close to King of Prussia and as a result developed strong antibodies from the virus of shopping in malls. The consumerism overwhelms me, the parking, the lights, the cheesy music, the aromas of fast food. Plus, when I was a kid, I was pretty much broke all of time. The Celestial City of Consumerism ultimately kept me outside of its inner courts. I like to shop for three things in person: Coffee, Beer, and Books. One of the reasons I like Costco so much is that I can macro-shop and not have to return for three months. Perishables like eggs I buy locally as well as other items that Costco does not carry like raspberry jam. I hunt big or selectively. Fringe shopping. Trader Joe's is the bomb because it has great quirky stuff where sustainability seems to be the ethic.

So, Amazon has become a great way to buy stuff I want (I really don't need it). Most recently some Wes Anderson films, books about God and Beer, and a South African Springboks shirt and cap. I also bought some career stuff for school (books and DVDs). I do that because what I do is to some degree who I am and my school district is pretty strapped financially. So, I purchase resources out of my own pocket which then makes me a better school counselor. I see that as a win-win.  

I know with the "Shop Local" mantra that I am not with the team on this one with eschewing Amazon. Yet, I am old enough to remember retail stores where one could never find what one was looking for and having to take extra steps to address the deficit, like place it on back order or go to another store(s) . Sometimes, the pricing was inflated. Frankly, sometimes the good old days weren't so great. People talk about how great cities are but then have to be reminded of the traffic, trash, taxes, and thugs. I have also found some shop owners really picky and peculiar and I would rather not try and persuade them to adjust their lack of smarts. I just don't shop there which is the best way to express dissatisfaction.

I have been thinking through charity versus being only concerned about my own consumerism recently, trying to discern how to share the monetary blessings God has entrusted to me.  I have come to see that people appreciate very little what they don't work for and earn with their own sweat and suffering. That's a fact.

If people build a house, they are unlikely to be careless and burn it down. Because, all you would have to do is rebuild it at great expense and effort. A natural consequence that counsels better than mere words. They may express appreciation and thanks for gifts unearned but there is a moral corrosion and rot that sets in when one is a recipient without earning it. I really struggle with Jesus's teachings that clearly state that we are to share because of the inevitable entitlement it creates. I have to think we are confusing legitimate charity for those who cannot do for themselves versus those who could and who choose not to.

I refuse to give out of guilt. I would rather provide a real opportunity for self-improvement rather than a hand-out. I have become skilled at saying No but I am doing so to try and ascertain what I should be saying Yes to...and it is indeed "More blessed to give than receive." But making sure that the giving is indeed a blessing and not a curse.