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| Life in a disposable society |
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| Written by Elizabette Guecamburu - Hometown Girl / | |
| Saturday, 10 November 2007 | |
 Elizabette Guecamburu / Hometown Girl The Oxford English Dictionary defines “cliché” as “a hackneyed or overused phrase.” Our lives are saturated with such phrases, and we tend to spout them more frequently than most people wash their hands after using the restroom. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say, “That guy is a few nickels short of a buck.” Even when it’s not being used as a reference to George W. Bush, it’s a cliché most people know and appreciate. But there’s one cliché that never loses its meaning to me. Recently, while fiddling with a malfunctioning set of headphones that were less than a year old, I found myself voicing it aloud: “They just don’t make things the way they used to!” As the phrase echoed in my frustrated ears and I tossed the blasted plastic away, I realized just how very true that sentiment was. It seems that we now live in a disposable society. Consumer products aren’t made to last longer than their warranties — if the product has a warranty to begin with. Coffeemakers, toasters and household appliances wear out faster than an old cozy sweatshirt. If I could figure out a way to make toast with my old sweatshirt, I would, but I doubt that’s going to happen. So, instead I must contend with a toaster that crisps unevenly and has a lever with the annoying tendency to pop upward without the slightest provocation. I wish I had a toaster that was made in 1955 — it would probably work more efficiently than the plastic-and-aluminum one I bought at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $39.99. If the durability of household appliances has plummeted in recent years, it is safe to say that the durability of electronics has crashed completely. I have gone through four cell phones in four years — in direct contrast to the thousands of marine-green corded rotary wall phones manufactured during the Nixon administration that are still in working order. Today, rather than repair an old television, it is easier and cheaper to buy a new one. That is sad, I think — just like the fabled Maytag repairman, what fate awaits old TV repair technicians? After all, their business has been usurped and swallowed by 20 percent discount sales at such places as Circuit City. Do television repair folks sit by their rotary phones waiting for potential customers not to call? I suppose the repair industry itself will eventually become a cliché — a hackneyed, antiquated profession that people discuss but don’t really think about. I can’t help but be sorrowed by the thought. After all, who will ensure that my toast is appropriately crispy or that my television doesn’t lose sound in one speaker? No cliché will bail me out of that one. Elizabette Guecamburu is a writer and native Patterson resident. She accepts e-mails at elizabette@ hotmail.com
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