Freedom is Slavery: America Has Too Many Choices

I had the pleasure of being able to go out the other night with my fiance. We have not gone out in a long time so we were pretty excited. The question of exactly what to do sprang up next. We deliberated on this one for a while and concluded that we wanted to go see a movie? This decision only sprang another next of questions What movie should we go see; What website should I use to look up the review of the movie; Where should we go see it; What time shall we see it? Then, when we got there, we had to decide where to sit, what snacks to buy or not buy, etc. I would say, all in all, the logistics of the movie jaunt took about as much time as watching the actual movie.

When I stop to think about the details of modern life, it is interesting to consider the amount of time that is spent making choices. Consider one of my "favorite" activities, grocery shopping. The typical aisle in an modern American grocery store appears to the right. And this is just the general supply aisle. More daunting choices than I care to to think about exist in the chip aisle--that's right, the chip aisle. In America, entire aisles are devoted to chips. If you are American, this does not seem daunting until you contrast it to the typical European grocery store, pictured below.

I used to like making choices. Now, I cringe at every decision making prospect. Why? Because I feel saturated by the amount of decisions the typical American has to make that are dedicated to consumerism. Some people dedicate a half an hour debating where they should get gas. Next, they have to decide what grade of gas they have to buy and whether or not they should go inside to get some snacks.

I am thinking about buying a car soon. Whoa! How any choices does this prospect elicit? Heres is a list, and I am sure I am missing some:

1. Should I buy or lease a car?
2. 
   
3. If I buy, should I buy new or used?
4. 
   
5. What manufacturer should I choose?
6. 
   
7. What model should I choose?
8. 
   
9. What color should I get?
10. 
    
11. What options should the vehicle have (this question can bring up many, many possible choices)?
12. 
    
13. Where should I buy this vehicle (again, this question effects many possible choices)?
14. 
    
15. Should I consult any reviews or consumer opinions regarding particular car models--if so, from what source?

On average, I wonder what percentage of our lives are dedicated, directly or indirectly, to making consumer decisions? Could it be as much as one hour a day? Three hours? More? Instead of focusing on baseball, family, religion, or even politics, most people focus their time and energy considering the next thing to buy.

Consumerism is consuming our lives.

If we were not so busy deciding what to buy and where to buy it, we could go back to things like baseball and politics. Seriously, I would rather have someone tell me exactly what to buy when I needed something than ponder for 20 minutes in the chip aisle exactly what is going to end up in my lunch box next week.

I will conclude with a couple quotes:

"Freedom is slavery."

-George Orwell, 1984

"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives."

-Tyler Durden, from the movie Fight Club