do you need a bigger baby?

Q: What am I doing?
A: Perusing the Media Education Foundation '07-'08 video catalog
Q: Why am I looking at this?
A: Because the title of the foundation has two words tied to a couple of my interests.
Q: What do I find most interesting in this year's catalog?
A: Baby Barcode
Q: Why do I find 'Baby Barcode' so intriguing?
A: He could be my son. And he is quickly, with great celerity, becoming an active member of:

a nation that places a lower priority on teaching its children how to thrive socially, intellectually, even spiritually, than it does on training them to consume.

- juliet schor, author, Born to Buy

Q: Do I realize that our schools are leading the charge to create a nation of consumers?
A: Of course. In fact, what I really know, what I really see, is that when any new computer shows up at my school, students and their families are most likely put in a tenuous position.
Q: Is it about having to keep up?
A: Of course. I've read Robert Frank's alarming essay, 'Our Climb to the Sublime: the $5,000 BBQ grill and other milestones', and he makes a profound point:

We are in the grip of a luxury fever that rivals the spectacular excesses of the Gilded Age of a century ago. But unlike that earlier period, which was dominated by a small number of families with enormous wealth, our current consumption boom involves a vastly large number of people all along the economic spectrum.

We need to take notice that we can not keep presuming that technology levels the playing field or creates a greater sense of equity. We need to recognize that simply using a nifty Web2.0 app doesn't mean parity, but instead, money. Even NetZero is $9.95 a month.

Q: What can I do about this issue?
A: My cell phone is ringing.
Q: What can I do about this issue?
A: I'm using my mobile web right now.
Q: What can I do about this issue?
A: I'm having Verizon Fios installed tomorrow.
Q: What can I do about this issue?
A: I'm sending out my homework assignment via text message.
Q: What issue?