Mom: Any good mail today? Dad: Mm..not really. Here's a "you're not covering the cost of all these mailings" charity request. You got a "you're not attractive enough" women's magazine with an article on swimsuits that minimize all your body flaws. Here are some "you're not stylish or ostentatious enough" catalogs...and coincidentally, an invitation to go deeper in debt from a credit card company. And here's our news magazine to identify the trend of the week we're missing...and I got a hobby magazine featuring equipment I ought to have. Yikes. Why do I get the feeling that society is trying to make us discontented with everything we do and insecure about who we are? Mom: I suppose if people thought about real issues and needs instead of manufactured desires, the economy would collapse and we'd have total anarchy. Dad: So pitching this junk would make me some kind of terrorist, huh? Mom: Yep. It's our patriotic duty to buy distractions from a simple life. Calvin: Hey Mom, I saw a bunch of products on TV that I didn't know existed, but I desperately need!
Paul Cantrell
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