Once upon a time, things were meant to last. When you bought furniture, it was understood that it would most likely be the last piece of this you would ever need. Oh, sure, you might buy another, but it was because the style had changed, not that the piece had fallen apart.
A lot of things were like that. Hell, pretty much everything was like that. It was just how things were.
Then one day, some executive figured out that they could sell a lot of something if it was disposable. Take paper plates, for example. This exec realized that paper plates were awfully convenient since you used and, rather than washing them, you threw them out. This is attractive to consumers, and the paper plate companies like it because you’ll keep on buying paper plates rather than simply using the regular plates you already have.
Now, that’s not a big deal. Might not be the smartest financial decision one could make, but it’s a balance between expense and the time it takes to wash dishes, a chore no one really enjoys.
Where the problem comes in is that somewhere along the way, everything became disposable. In this day and age, even marriage is disposable. Continue reading “Disposable Lives”
