Haiti and the Opposite of Consumption

This photo was taken just south of Taholah, Washington on the Quinault Indian Reservation. On the day I took the photo, two members of the Quinault Indian Nation saw us taking photographs of seagulls, struck up a conversation, and generously offered us an opportunity to walk on a restricted tribal beach. We very much appreciated their kindness.

Today I've been pondering the situation in Haiti and the disparate economic conditions of Haiti and its neighbor, the United States. This quote from Raj Patel's excellent book, The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy, struck me as pertinent:

In many North American indigenous cultures, generosity is a central behavior in a broader social and economic system. One anecdotal account examined what happened when boys from white and Lakota communities received a pair of lollipops each. Both sets of boys put the first one straight in their mouths. The white boys put the second one in their pockets, while the Native American boys presented it to the nearest boy who didn't have one. It's not surprising to see that culture can shape how resources are accumulated and distributed, and dictate the social priority of saving over sharing, but the experiment also reminds is that the opposite of consumption isn't thrift -- it's generosity.

Today's front yard critter count:
Raccoons:
AM: 4 (Old Tailless Guy and Not-so-Crabby Mama's 3 teenagers)
PM: 9 (both mamas and all 7 teenagers)
Deer: 0