Gimme! Gimme! Now!

One of the most far-reaching developments in the history of the advertising industry, perhaps even in global culture as a whole, was the move from simply pitching products to selling “lifestyles.” In one sense, there is nothing really new about this; human beings have always been enthralled by fashion and novelty. In another sense, however, the consumer society that exists today is like nothing the world has ever seen before. The power of visual images, the lure of celebrity, the instantaneous delivery of services, the immediacy of virtual worlds, the demand for more and more stimuli — among many other factors — hold out false possibilities to young people, undermining their ability to postpone gratification in the service of higher goals. The weakening of family ties, school clubs, community associations, not to mention churches and other strong countervailing influences, has made it very difficult to convey any other set of values to young people. All this is well known and often lamented. We mention it here to underline the absence of any sense of the value of sacrifice in ordinary life.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 271 (emphasis original)