Expecting A Reaction

I had to post this thought because I think it's an important one.

Every Tweet, every Facebook post, and every blog post, at least my inexperience, is crucial.  They're crucial to me because I post with an audience in mind.  I'm thinking of the reactions to this post at this very moment.

Has this become the norm in the modern age of narcissism?

It's not just what I post online either.  It's what I say in real life.  In all conversations, I attempt to reference something that consumerism impacts.  The only exceptions are crime and the weather.  When I am talking about a Adobe InDesign projects, I am taking about a brand that my peers can relate to.  When I am quoting a movie, I am quoting it because I expect that the listener has already seen it.

If there was no culture based on consumption, what would there be to talk about?

Well, some would say religion.  But religion is a form of consumption.  It can very well be argued that religious sects are brands.  The ethos of Buddhism is to reject possessions, but if a text is what you adhere to, you are thus adhering to a possession.

Sure, some will talk about taboo things like sex and bodily functions.  But those conversational subjects do not weld society together even if certain taboos are not so in some nations.  Those subjects are mere exceptions to the rule, and they are rarely brought up.  Unless, of course, they become packaged as things to consume (Fifty Shades of Grey is a good example of this).

I say because I expect a reaction.  That's how powerful the supermarket is.  It ties us together.  There's no point in talking to walls or furniture.  They do not give us a reason to speak.

A person can cry in pain.  But such an act is only an instinctual reaction.  Conversation requires initiation, and in order to initiate, one has to understand what is conversational.