Citizens, not Consumers

Good Day All That Is!

A friend of mine asked the question, "When did we become consumers rather than citizens?"
I hadn't noticed, but in thinking about it, she is correct. Used to be we were referred to in the media as citizens. That's a powerful word. According to the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged a

citizen is 1. a native or naturalized member of a state of nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection; 2. an inhabitant of a city or town. And citizenship is 1. the state of being vested with the rights, privileges and duties of a citizen; 2. the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen.
Whereas a consumer is 1. one who or that which consumes. 2. one who uses a commodity or service; 3. an organism, usually an animal that feeds on plants or other animals.

Whew! Now that's a powerful shift from being someone who is of character with a sense of belonging to a community with rights, privileges and duties to someone who simply uses things up with no contribution or creativity.

We are what we say we are. Language matters, as all words have vibrations to them. You can feel the difference in the words used. Being referred to a consumers is tantamount to pigs at the trough. Worse, it doesn't have any of the qualities of contribution, creation and citizenship.

When did we stop being citizens? We are citizens of the places and communities we inhabit, of this country and of this world and even this Universe. When we are referred to as consumers we loose a sense of place, belonging and co-creation with all our fellows.

We probably stopped being citizens about the time there stopped being statesmen in our government.

We are profound beings, divine of origin. Check out the iceberg photo and imagine it turned upside down. Now the tip of the iceberg is on the bottom, as you in the body on earth, the expansive huge mass is now at the top reaching into space and eternity....that is who You Really Are. A giant being, eternal and infinite with a finite body on the ground. You are citizen of the Universe, of all of Heaven, of this great experiment called America and of the town you live in. We are connected and co-creators.

I call on the media to resume our status as citizens so that we might be reminded of our infinite potential, our vast ability to create and contribute, and our ability to respond to each other and ourselves.

Thanks for reading! k


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