The American Standard of Living is NOT negotiable.

Let's all get up in arms about how Iraq was caused by evil corporate types trying to maintain their power lifestyle.

Let's conveniently neglect to notice that their lifestyle comes from OUR lifestyle.

If we stop buying things and going places, the economy will run down.

It's the nature of capitalism, isn't it? Everybody seems to stop dead at this point. No economist will touch it. Are they right?

Please think about this before you post a comment.

Do you have original thoughts about how the middle class can exert their numerical superiority, by lowering their consumption for moral reasons?

I'd really like to explore the question of how to get more people to Live Small.

Small as in modest, careful. I just read a diary that excused useless gift giving because "it's the season" and "it feels good, so do it."

Should we just give up and keep flying to places we could watch video of? Driving to places we could watch video of?

Would it be more fun to watch a well-shot documentary with friends?

The diary title is a quote from George H. W. Bush (41) after considerable badgering about the need for the Gulf War: wasn't it just to get oil, and couldn't Americans just learn to conserve?

I think he hit the nail on the head.

We invade to maintain our lifestyle, about which we complain vociferously:

"I need a plasma TV to watch High Definition TV of little Darfur babies starving to death." Works for me...