By Luis Yerovi Jr.

A few days following the tragic events of 9-11, President Bush, Jr. appeared on television and asked Americans to demonstrate their patriotism by going shopping. At first, I felt that his request was rather odd. The United States had just been brutally attacked by terrorists and all the President wanted was for Americans to go to the nearest mall and shop. On further reflection, it is not so odd after all.

America is a capitalistic society. Its laws, military and foreign policy are all geared to keep its economy humming. The modern American economy is increasingly based on the health of its large corporations. These corporations, in turn, depend on consumer's ability to shop for their sustainability.

As the Twin Towers crashed to the ground, it seemed that the heart of the American economy had received a direct hit. But, as was just mentioned, it is consumers that really fuel the economy. What better way to show the terrorists that America's economy would not yield than for ordinary citizens to respond with patriotic shopping?

I was a bit taken back by this scenario. The sentiment of shopping as a patriotic duty seemed to portray America as something cold and disheartening -- a corporation-state driven by the profit motive and its citizens nothing more than workers and consumers. The American Dream seemed to whittle down to nothing more than the tightly choreographed dance between producers, marketers and consumers,whose endpoint is not enjoyment but simple consumption.

Unfortunately, this bland state of affairs is the reality of the modern Western world, specially for those societies that heed the call of capitalism. But what other viable societal options are there for us Homo Sapiens who, in the end, really only know how to reproduce and consume (and defend ourselves)? Socialism? Collectivist societies? Anarchy? Widespread reactionary Buddhist aestheticism? The final jury for what is best for the human species --time and natural selection -- has yet to weigh in. In the meantime, and given the current capitalist state of affairs, Bush was right to declare a call to shop after the tumbling of the Twin Towers.

However, even within the supposedly prevalent capitalistic system of free markets and the "invisible guiding hand," Bush was misleading. "W" failed to stipulate to Americans that they should continue to shop but as educated and concerned consumers: educated in terms of their own real needs and concerned about how their consumption could affect the well-being of those around them and the environment. After all, wanton shopping, like for ever bigger Sport Utility Vehicles, is not so different from wanton bombing in some ways and can also cause dangerous and irreversible collateral damages.