What did you buy today?

Here’s what I “bought” today:

• Electricity
• Water
• Telephone service
• Internet access
• Cable TV

But did I really buy those things today?  My electric company will bill me for my usage for today next month.  The water bill won’t show up until January.  The telephone and Internet we’ll pay for in the first 10 days of December, and the cable has already been paid for.

The whole point of Buy Nothing Day is to throw a wrench in the machine of mindless consumption, to show corporate America that we are not their puppets.  Wouldn’t it be better to do what some friends of mine have done and commit to a small holiday giving season and to consciously purchase only those items and nothing more?

I’m not for mindless anything, and mindless rebellion, particuarly when enacted by people wearing sweatshop-made jeans bugs the hell out of me.  Still, Buy Nothing Day seems like a good idea and until I can ferret out what about it bugs me I’ll keep participating.