Provided that you are doing these things because you recycle more than you purchase, or you buy second-hand rather than new, or you are trying to lower your cost of living so

you have more free time to work on projects that will inspire others to do their part.

I think that there might be some sort of stigma ( a word which here  means “a mark of shame or discredit”) attached to having things that make us look poor. Wearing worn out sneakers, driving a beat up, rusted Mercedes Benz, or having patches on ones clothing all imply that you are poor, or lazy, or both. But this is not always the case. You might really be trying to re-use old things rather than have them go to a land-fill. And you might actually be a very energetic chap who works night and day at a rather difficult and strenuous job, but yet you might still have a house that is really a mobile home with a secondary roof built around it.

I guess what I am getting at is that it is very possible that our culture emphasizes looking new and clean and shiny, possibly because we have become used to having extra income that can be spent on buying new, clean, and shiny things. But the cost  is that we throw a lot of things away, things that are still useful and have life in them, things that very poor people would love to have. We create mountains of waste that are hidden from public view so no one  feels bad about what is happening, because if people did start feeling bad, then spending would slow down, and our economy would slow down, and that would not be good…or would it?

Our current economic slow down is, unfortunately, not a result of people feeling bad, but rather a result of people spending more than they have; however, I think this might be a blessing more than a disaster because there is a chance that it might help us to re-consider many things. Do we really need to shop at Mervyns for new clothes, or can we go to a thrift store instead? Can the old Mercedes be fixed rather than putting it in a junk yard and buying a new Ford? I for one certainly hope so.

I have always admired gutter-punks for their resourcefulness at using old things that people throw out. Old clothes get cut up and sewn back together with dental floss to make rugged garments. Back-packs are patched and re-strapped. They make an art form out of re-use. It’s actually quite beautiful if one can get passed the un-washed smells.  But I don’t think that everyone should live the wild life of a gutter punk. Some folks have children, or jobs that would not go well with wearing patched-together clothing, but it would be a wonderful thing if more people were able to not feel shame at shopping at thrift stores, or serving dinner guests with plates that do not match.

It is okay to look trashy, and maybe it will  become more okay if our economy keeps faltering and people have less money to buy new fences and plastic siding and shiny white sneakers. Maybe it will not be so bad after all to have to eat less, and depend on our neighbors just a little more.  Maybe it will be a blessing when appearances matter less, and our planet and other people matter more.