Marxists tend to think that Americans are mostly concerned about material gain and little more. Americans are sold on new junk, and little more. This junk is little more then just part of a cycle, that will inevitably end up in the dump. That ignores love and freedom, two values often ignored but so important in understanding our society today. There is something beyond consumerism. Trashy malls are an important part of our society, but by no means frame it as we know it.

It seems everybody loves consumerism, and everybody wants new stuff. We see ourselves wanting a 4x4 pickup, an all-terrain vehicle, a new snowmobile, a new rifle, a new computer, and a lots of land to play with that stuff. Through hard work it would be possible to have all those things, but that would deny the value of love and freedom. Maybe some of those things would inevitably bring freedom and love, but they should be a second choice beyond the world we live in today.

We need some kind of doctrine better then consumerism. We need an existence that is a free life that brings us closer to a state of nature. It could be rural isolationism, religion, or something else that fulfills our human needs beyond what material items bring to our life. It needs to be grounded in love and in freedom. Any such doctrine might just transfer control from consumerism to the power of nature or the community we choose to live in.

The movie Easy Rider might give us some clues to what freedom is in America. That movie has inspired the author to question conventional notions of freedom, and to search for a deeper meaning as individual. Books, writing, and talking it out with various people has lead to a deeper search, but it seems impossible to find. It all seems to come back to crude materialist demands—that all-terrain vehicle or 140 acres of land.

The problem is the lack of answers to the question of freedom beyond consumerism. Books are limited by the fears, imaginations of authors, and the limitations of words. Writing can get the individual closer to his own source of meaning but never quite there. Talking to other individuals provides new clarity but rarely the truth beyond facades. Exploring the beautiful areas of New England from the farms to cabins deep in the woods to the views from mountaintops far a high inspires, but does not show a freedom deeper then material consumption.

Freedom may never be found. Absolute truths like freedom do not exist except in the abstractions of academia and the great spaces of our imagination. Maybe there is no absolute truth in farm fields or words written by free individuals, but it's interesting to explore them at the same time. Religion and love is a way to apply some kind of value to a world that is naturally nihilistic, and we must aggressively pursue our beliefs to ensure that our world still matters. We must be more then just consumers.

If we look to our accomplishments to define ourselves as individuals we will find ourselves rather disappointed. The Vice Presidency brought nothing but heartache to Nelson Rockefeller. A philosophical Mario Savio graduated from Berkley with little meaning from the status symbol of his education. His education thought him a lot about argument and rhetoric, but little about freedom or love. David Crosby made out of a career singing politically charged songs, only to denounce it all saying politics is bullshit. Maybe he was right, if only because politics too often ignores real questions of freedom, love, and individualism.