The amount of resources that it takes to fuel a capitalistic, "me first" economy is staggering. If we would just divert 1/4 or 1/3 of them to create a viable infrastructure, we wouldn't need bailouts and empty promises to try and rescue an economic belief system that is swirling the drain. There are those, of course, who believe that free markets and capitalistic rape of the environment is the best thing going. The way to combat that mindset is to just not participate. Buy used. Make your own. Don't buy at all. Use Freecycle and Craigslist to find good homes for what you no longer need instead of adding to our landfills. I believe that the fearmongering that is taking place in the media isn't about Americans doing with less, it's about Americans learning that they can do just fine with less. That is a corporate capitalist's worst nightmare. CLICK HERE TO JOIN XOMBA TODAY!

The happiest and most gracious people I have ever met were also the poorest. Some of the most miserable are the richest people I have met. Click here to find out how you can get paid to post items like this. It's free and easy to join.

In fact, one of my favorite songs of all times is "I Got Plenty of Nothin'" from the American musical "Porgy and Bess". The first line is: I got plenty of nothin', and nothin's plenty for me. I've always thought those who live in the industrialized nations all have way too much "stuff" (the comedian George Carlin did a hilarious routine on that very subject) when I have found that the simpler my life is, the better, and the happier. But as a compassionate liberal, I don't think that it follows that the poor should remain poor. We have a lot of poverty in America too, and we need to raise those people up to a decent standard of living and not encourage such stark economic differences that lead to the super rich, middle class and poor. So in a way, this recession is just what the doctor ordered. It will make people who believe they need all that "stuff" to be happy to rethink their lives and simplify them. Maybe listening to music from an old radio (instead of an iPOD) and watching the sunset (sunsets are fabulous where I live) will become enjoyable again!

But there’s an easy answer to your comment, and the truth is that if everybody on the planet turned veggie (at the very least, vegetarian if not vegan), there would be much less starvation and likely less political oppression worldwide, because it’s harder to be a dictator in a country where everyone is well-fed and has the time and energy to be politically aware and active. Raising food animals is expensive, and it becomes downright impossible if you’re a poor villager with little or no money and not enough food to feed yourself, much less your animals. That’s why it makes me crazy when groups like Heifer International promote giving food animals to poor people who can barely afford to keep themselves and their families going. Then they have the extra burden of having to raise these animals, and, in fact, they’re often stolen or sold. I lived in Ethiopia during one of its major droughts in the 70s, when scores of people and their animals died, so I’ve witnessed poverty and starvation, and I'm sure you have, too, because you live in India, which still has a lot of poverty despite its recent economic boom. However, I will admit that I am privileged in the sense that I have the knowledge of the economic, health and environmental benefits of veganism at my fingertips, thanks to easily available technology and books. But this knowledge could easily be given to everyone on the planet if organizations like the UN, Oxfam, Heifer International, The Red Cross and other charitable groups were encouraged to disseminate it. Unfortunately, there’s still a prevailing myth that meat is necessary in the diet, and meat eating has, in fact, become a sign of prosperity. Which is fine and dandy if you happen to be prosperous, but if you’re impoverished, the meat habit can end up killing you. I will also admit that I’m a bleeding hearts liberal from way back, and although even I can’t carry the load of the world on my shoulders 24/7 and there are periods every day when I forget about all the suffering and just live in the moment, the bad stuff still stays with me. I can’t completely enjoy my own life when I know there are millions who are suffering and dying. The idea of completely ignoring the that and just concentrating on my own life seems disrespectful and irresponsible. But I’m sure that that kind of mindless self-centeredness is not what you’re suggesting. We all need our lighter moments, or we’d just burn out, and I get that. Even the Buddha said that life is suffering and promoted mindfulness.