The Berkshire Eagle 1/7/05
I, Publius
Sacrificing trees for catalogs
By Alan Chartock
Special to The Eagle


One of the things I love about the Berkshires is the fact that so many of the people who live here really care about the environment. Our region attracts some wonderful people who are concerned about the earth and do important work to make sure that our resources are preserved. Some band together to protect our rivers. Some look to our scenic mountains and still others care about preserving open spaces and farm lands. Some are into recycling and that brings me to something I've had on my mind for a long time, the sheer volume of unsolicited catalogs that break the backs of our good mail carriers.
These catalogs cost a fortune to manufacture and a huge amount of money to mail. I have been told that the United States Post Office makes a mint because of them so naturally, they're all for them. They probably need the dough to make up for all of us who use e-mail and have stopped buying postage stamps. These slick advertising vehicles make me crazy. Every time I look at one of them I see all the little baby trees and their parents that have been cut down to do what? Sell us schlock, that's what. They are also dangerous in that our children are exposed to some material that is fashionable but could be questionable reading for the younger set. The "Victoria's Secret" catalog comes to mind.
My proposal is that we need another one of those lists. You know, the "Do Not Call," "Do Not Spam," "Do Not Resuscitate" lists where you sign up not to get any more of something. The "Do Not Call" list turns out to be the real champ. To understand the danger we're all in, we have to turn to religion. These accursed glossy brochures bring to mind the concept of mortal sin. Once you do the bad thing, you are consigned to a seriously bad afterlife. There is no getting away from it. So in the world of catalog shopping, what is that bad thing? It is, of course, buying just one item, one time, out of one catalog. That's because these magazines literally propagate. They mate and produce little catalogs.
I was going to tell you who did that in our house, but that person said that s/he didn't want his/her name in this column. So I took it out. That person sent away for envelopes and stationary with his/her name on them. Then, being very lovely and fashionable, that person got into clothes. My theory, and I think that this is fact, is that once you buy a single thing, these purveyors of everything sell your name to others. The fact that you actually laid out money at one point makes you a prime buyer and people will pay big bucks for your name. Then there's no going back. Once on the list, you are doomed. It gets completely out of hand. When you take the garbage out to the street in the blue recycling bin you will be asking for a trip to the chiropractor. These things weigh a ton.
In the end, there is a very disquieting truth we must accept. The reason why so many of these things get sent out is because they work! They sell stuff.
Obviously there are enough people out there who shop from mail-order catalogs to make the expense in labor and postage worthwhile. So, are we willing to squander the Earth or should the Congress pass a federal "Do Not Send Catalogues" law which can protect those of us who don't want to receive this stuff. All you'd have to do is call an 800 number or go online to get on the list. Of course, Congress could go as far as to prohibit the post office from sending any catalogs but the captains of industry, most of whom are Republicans, might find this antithetical to the good old American know how that made this country great. After all, creating commerce is a good thing, right?
On another topic, I got an e-mail from a Moveon.org friend. He wanted us all to sign a petition to have our senators who are going to confirm the new White House counsel, Alberto Gonzales, unequivocally state that the United States opposes torture. Gonzales, as you know, wrote the famous memo which seemed to justify the use of torture in our war on terror. He characterized the Geneva Convention, designed to protect our troops when they are captured, as "quaint." Since that time we have seen lots of pictures of our people torturing prisoners, some of whom have been held without benefit of counsel for indeterminate sentences. Every time you see us torturing "them," we are justifying similar actions by the other side. What's troubling is how few people seem to understand that this can really hurt us.
When we torture people we are truly taking the low road. Doing so is just plain wrong and it degrades us as a society. The Bush people now renounce torture and a few low level grunts will have to take the punishment for what happened at Abu Ghraib but we all know that Mr. Gonzales and his now famous memo set the stage for "anything goes." He seems like a quiet, scholarly, nice man but he has done a very bad thing. Should he be the attorney general of the United States?


Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is president and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor of communications at SUNY-Albany. His web site is www.alanchartock.com





- posted by Raymond @ 1/13/2005 10:50:00 AM

 
Berkshire Eagle

- posted by Raymond @ 1/13/2005 10:47:00 AM