Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Commercialization of Children & the Environment


I came across a nice essay today from Susan Linn, the Executive Director for The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CFCC). One of the reasons I am so passionate about stopping corporate marketers from brain-washing children is because, as Susan points out, brain-washed kids become brain-washed adults. In her words...

"The primacy of marketplace values-and instilling those values into the next generation-imperils everyone. It's true that children benefit immediately and directly when we limit their exposure to commercial marketing. But the impact is so much broader. Allowing kids to grow up free from bombardment by marketing messages is our best chance to nurture adults who recognize the value of preserving, rather than exploiting, environmental riches-who define themselves more as stewards than consumers".

Our children are the answer to seeing through to a way of living that eschews consumerism in favor of communitarianism. As our limited environment reaches its upward limits at the hands of over-exploitation, over-production, and over-consumption, all people must find and inhabit an environmentally sustainable way of living. Doing otherwise will result in collapse. Children are born with the innate ability and vision to see a way of living that is possible to sustain for centuries. As they become commercialized, and are forced to connect well-being with material gains, they lose sight of their innate capacities; they become brain-washed. And, as many of us know, getting back to the crystal clear understanding that our economic and social health are fully-dependent on a healthy environment takes time and effort. Thanks to people like Susan, and organizations like CFCC, there is a chance that many children will be saved from this cruel exploitation and future.

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