New Year’s Revolution - January 2024

This article was published in the January 2024 issue of the Youngstown Buckeye Review, a locally owned black publication.   

Homer Warren, DBA

My New Year’s resolution is to continue the revolution against the consumer.  For centuries, humans have been infected with the mindset of consume-or-be-consumed.  The consumer mindset turns everything into commodities and relationships into binary transactions of us-versus-them, me-versus-the-world, and I-want-I-don’t-want”.  It’s behind individual, family, community, national, and global stress, anxiety, depression, anger, hatred, fear, and violence.  It’s the source of wealth disparities, wars, autocracies, and right-wing fascist anti-democratic movements.  As USA Slavery (one vile symptom of the consumer mindset disease) was abolished, we must now abolish the disease itself.  The revolution entails:

1) Getting people to see that we are not consumers.  We are Producers made in the image and likeness of a powerful “creative” and “productive” energy of the universe.  Liberation, freedom, wellbeing, and the common good can only come from realizing that we are Producers and utilizing Producer language to think, talk, and “produce” decisions about EVERYTHING.

2) Getting everyone in education, healthcare, criminal justice, government, and social services to STOP seeing people as consumers and/or commodities.  Indeed, STOP calling people students, patients, clients, constituents, criminals, felons, service recipients.  You’re providing Inputs to Producers.  They, in turn, utilize your Inputs to “produce” meaningful and beneficial Outputs (behaviors) for themselves and the community. 

3) Getting organizations to recognize that each Producer has a physical body with a huge number of phenomenal production processes designed to naturally “produce” wellness, restoration, and health.  As an example, healthcare is about providing Inputs that help Producers independently “produce” thoughts and decisions to overcome the consumer mindset disease that has us eating unhealthful foods, abusing drugs and alcohol, and ignoring physical and mental fitness habits.

4) Getting organizations to recognize that each Producer has a brain-mind with a huge number of phenomenal production processes designed to naturally “produce” meaningful and beneficial FARTs (feelings, actions, reaction, and thoughts) for self, others, and the community.  As an example, educators often interact with young Producers who, because of the consumer mindset disease, see a world filled with threats to survival; this results in them “producing” negative FARTs for self, others, and the community.  Education is about providing Inputs that stimulate and motivate the brain-mind’s natural ability to “produce” meaningful and beneficial FARTs for self, others, and the community.  

5) Getting organizations to recognize that Producers have a spiritual dimension that guides their natural ability to “produce” restorative physical and mental health, meaningful material quality of life, political-economic systems for the common good, and positive FARTs (feelings, actions, reaction, and thoughts) for self, others, and the community.  Organization are to provide Inputs that assist, not hinder, the spiritual aspect of “production”.

Critiques of modern society often call for a new way of thinking, talking, and decision-making.  The age old consumer mindset way of thinking, talking, and decision-making is behind our individual, family, community, national, and global stress, anxiety, depression, anger, hatred, fear, and violence.  I hope this year you join me in the revolution to abolish the consumer and begin the new way of thinking, talking, and “producing” decisions as Producers.  For more information see producercosnciousness.com.