By Ramadan Al-Anazi
WE consume more than we produce. Our consumption behavior patterns are dangerous. We squander a lot of money on things we do not need. Other countries have farms while we do nothing but consume. Others manufacture items while we buy them. Others come up with new and brilliant ideas about many things; we take the ideas and apply them to society. We spend a lot of money on food, luxury goods, clothes and electronic devices.
Our markets are full of cheap counterfeit products that are sold along with original products in broad daylight. You do not see something like this in international markets. The people of other countries are more active and energetic than us. They eat the vegetables and fruits they grow domestically, they wear the clothes they make, and they drive the cars they manufacture. They have higher awareness levels about the importance of saving.
The people of others countries respect time and fulfill promises. They sleep early to wake up early and work hard. We sleep late and work less; we are simply not productive. Moreover, we continue to overuse our resources to the point of depletion. We do not think about the future and do not have contingency plans. We overuse electricity and squander water resources. We do not know how to respect the environment and arrange our priorities. We speak a lot but we never put words into action.
The whole world has been going through difficult economic times and people are tightening their belts while we continue to spend money and consume more than we need. Our consumption patterns should be changed. We have to be more careful about saving and we have to tighten our belts. We cannot afford to go on like this, as our energy, resources and money are likely to run out.
We need to restore balance to our spending patterns and raise public awareness about the importance of controlling these patterns. The values of saving should be instilled in our children’s minds. Every family should have a fund in which money is put away for a crisis. The world is changing around us and we have to change with it.
