Throw-Away Society

(article by Dr. Joe Strauss)

It is difficult for some of us who have been around for a half century or more to realize that we live in a throw-away society. We shake our heads at the younger generation who want to throw things out when they do not work and who look at us incredulously when we suggest they try to get them repaired. Yet the young people have kept up with the times. Things are no longer meant to be repaired. If something breaks down, you might as well replace it. Recently, our computer’s laser printer was in need of repair. Nine years ago, it cost close to $1,500 so the thought of having it repaired made me anxious. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the parts to repair were only about $200. However, for about the same amount I could buy a whole new printer! The cost of one hour of labor to have our electric typewriter serviced would actually be more than the cost of a new electric typewriter. After eight years, the manufacturer of our photocopy machine just stopped making parts to repair it. I am not sure whether we are forced to buy new ones because they no longer make parts or if they no longer make parts because everyone just buys a new one. This is especially true in business where the costs of new machines can be written off as an expense but it is also true in the home. It does not pay to repair a broken VCR or most small appliances. Added to that is the fact that we have more electric appliances now than we ever had, including of course, bread machines, power screw drivers, blenders, fax machines, answering machines and on and on ad infinitum.

This phenomenon extends even to automobiles. Of course, we still have auto mechanics but look how many people lease cars rather than buy them. Very few people buy a car with the idea of keeping it 10 or 15 years. Authorities say it is almost always less expensive to repair a car until it rusts away than it is to buy a new one, but we are programmed to get rid of it rather than repair it.

This change in our thinking creates a number of problems. In a time when we are concerned about recycling newspapers, glass containers and plastic and the ever-increasing number of landfills, we are simultaneously throwing out appliances and electronic equipment sometimes for the sake of a two-dollar part. The result is yet another problem, a decreasing number of technical jobs. When foreign labor can make a VCR or a television cheaper than an American worker can repair it, the latter job is no longer necessary. This has tremendous economic repercussions both in jobs lost and in the balance of trade.

Perhaps the greatest problem, however, is just in the attitude that develops about how we care for things. Why bother taking care of an appliance or piece of equipment if you can just buy a new one. It really does not pay to maintain things or have them periodically checked. Unfortunately, this same attitude often carries over into taking care of ourselves. Even though we realize that they make very few replacement parts can be made for the human body, we are nevertheless, not accustomed to taking care of things and we neglect ourselves. The fact that we are constantly bombarded with medical ads for quick fixes for everything from sinus headaches to indigestion only adds to our neglect. Many people do not change their lifestyle after angioplasty or even heart by-pass surgery. The know they can have it done again.

We must realize that there are certain natural laws that have consequences when violated. When a vertebra is subluxated, it interferes with the function of the nerve system and that impacts upon every aspect of one’s life. You cannot reach or maintain your potential for health; performance at work and/or play is lessened and life’s little problems often become magnified when your spine is subluxated. You just cannot get the most out of life. It is nice to know that we are not relegated to the trash pile when something goes wrong in our body, but it is more important to realize that we must care for ourselves in order to have a full and productive life.