Flying Business Class: My New Travel Habit?

By virtue of my role as a consumer educator, I travel a lot. These days, with some additional family responsibilities in New Jersey, I am on a train or turnpike even more than usual. So perhaps I can be forgiven for splurge on a recent Airtran flight from Atlanta to Washington, when I purchased an upgrade to business class…except that I can’t seem to shake the shame of it. Well, “shame” is a strong word, but what I can’t seem to get out of the back of my head is how easily I settled into my new role as “business class passenger.” I am privileged to even have access to air flight when so many travelers in the majority world are confined to bicycles or rickshaws or stuck in cramped converted school buses. Yet after one flight, I start having a “I could get used to this” response.

Of course, everybody deserves a little indulgence, and I don’t want to make too big a deal over a $49 splurge. For the record, the upgrade wiped out my baggage fee and entitled me to a free cocktail and extra-special snacks that replaced my buying lunch. But the word that trips me up is “entitled.” Because I had the money for an impulse purchase (“Sure Mr. Ticket Taker, swipe my Visa for an upgrade!) I got to leap-frog the hundred or so other people I am usually hanging out with back in coach class. While they were shoving over-stuffed bags into the over-head bin, a flight attendant was calling me by name to interest me in a free pre-flight beverage (in my favorite flavor of mango), all because I could afford 50 extra bucks.

To make matters worse, in the course of a one hour and 10 minute flight, I got used to the conditions, eagerly anticipating my speedy exit from row 3, instead of hunkering down for the long, slow slog from the back of the jet. When I was in the air terminal, I took new notice of the “Fly Clear” security system, where you can pay an annual fee to breeze through security. Having that momentary daydream is when I knew something was going wrong. I have been opposed to the idea that the wealthy can avoid the inconveniences of national security by paying for special screening. What was going on with me? After one single swanky flight, I am thinking about purchasing a security clearance? What kind of “conscious consumer” am I? Talk about a slippery slope.

I was given a little relief from this guilt trip by an article in yesterday’s New York Times by David Segal, “No, You Can’t Get an Upgrade.” As a former student of sociology, I was reminded of the force of culture in a person’s behavior. Segal describes Americans as “epic consumers” and notes that our desire for “bigger and better’ is “…so neatly woven into the double helix of our DNA that we hardly notice it. When we buy a television, it’s rarely because we lack a TV. We want a thinner TV, or a bigger TV, or a TV with features that sound beguiling even if we have no idea what they do.” Well, that explains it! My desire to have more for the sake of a few creature comforts was part of my cultural training. Certainly it makes sense that some of my greedier instincts and not so admirable impulses started kicking in once I indulged.

The article served as a good reminder to me. As I try to take this economic crisis as a time of encouraging fellow traders to reassess and recalibrate consumption, I don’t want to disregard the very real pulls we feel toward a certain way of life or standard of living. I don’t want to suggest that sacrifice or down-sizing is easy, even in the name of simplicity. I certainly don’t want to suggest I have it all figured out or that my way is some holier-than-thou approach. I want to reclaim the American dream, not trash it.

Last week I acted like so many good Americans—maybe I even helped stimulate the economy—by consuming more than I needed. And I re-learned a lesson about what I really value and why. Perhaps it was worth the $49 after all.

The Meaning of Economy Recovery: Taking a Few Initial Steps

I originally wrote this posting yesterday, but slept on it a bit and offer this revision:

From pundits to real estate agents, I have heard many people speculate about how long the economic crisis will last. While I certainly don't wish long-term suffering for anyone in the States (I have a family member of my own recently laid-off) or overseas (where the poor suffer the most from broken economic systems), I do hope recovery is not quick. Unless we have sufficient time to identify what went wrong, why and how, I don't think consumers or institutions will change their ways.

The word "recovery" has a special meaning to me as a member of a 12-step program where we seek to recover from unhealthy, destructive behaviors and mindsets. I think of how so many households over-indulged in spending, or too many of us didn't recognize the impact of our consumption on others. We were addicted, in a sense, to the pursuit of more things no matter what the cost of acquiring them. In order to recover from an addiction, a person has to go through a series of steps that involve recognition of the issue and a commitment to changing one's ways. True recovery is never quick or easy.

I offer up the 12 step philosophy to help us recover a sensible, sustainable, serene approach to meeting our wants and needs as individuals. Some of the steps refer to a Higher Power, which may be off putting to readers who aren't people of faith. But the point is not to promote religion so much as to help us recognize our ultimate lack of control. A paradox of "recovery" is that in admitting your lack of power you actually gain an ability to get your affairs in order.

Although there are twelve steps, they don't always come in order. I offer up a few that I think ring true for those of us who have over-indulged or failed to plan well. I hope I don't sound harsh or moralistic. Instead, just as I promote budgeting in my book, I want to share an approach to financial matters that has helped me. By looking at our consumption with humility, not despair, we can "recover" from our past habits to stabilize and thrive: something I wish for our economies and our families.

Step 1- We admitted we were powerless over irresponsible consumption - that our lives had become unmanageable

Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sane consumption

Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves

Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs

Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it

Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out

Step 12 - Having had a awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

55,000 Strong for Fair Trade on May 9th

I'm celebrating World Fair Trade Day this year with a Fair Trade discussion and chocolate tasting at independent bookstore Book Nook in Hyattsville, Maryland. I hope our group will be joining 55,000 others in the United States who want to reclaim the record for World Largest Fair Trade Break. Last year more than 12,000 of us took some time out around and set the first world's record for a Fair Trade break. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Finland stepped up and got more than 50,000 Fair Traders together in Helsinki.

This year, though, with the help of the Fair Trade Resource Network, we are going to reclaim the title in a variety of fun, informative and creative ways! I want to share a couple ideas I have heard of that seem simple but effective but first, check out this video for encouragement:


To join in the fun AND promote economic justice consider these ideas:

* Invite a couple friends to a local coffee shop and have them brew up some Fair Trade coffee or tea.
* Serve up Fair Trade hot chocolate for a girl/boy scout troop or sports event that your kid attends.
* Grab your drum and head to a local park for a circle that celebrates Fair Trade with a bang.
* Invite your book group to learn about Fair Trade and discuss its pros and cons.
* Host a craft sale after your congregation's weekly service.

If you need sources for these products, visit the Fair Trade Federation or TransFair USA for a list of retailers. If you need free promotional materials or education materials, ask for FTRN! They'll also explain how to record your break's participation to help us meet our goal.

And if you are not in the United States, fear not! The World Fair Trade Organization has resources for celebrations around the globe.