Money Quotes: The War at Home
Image from the Oregon State Archives
Call it a case of history repeating, but it seems as if the mantras of the past have lost none of their luster (or relevance) in the face of our current environmental crisis. During World War II, homemakers were rallied to sign and uphold the U.S. government’s “Consumer Pledge for Total Defense.” Thrift and economy became synonymous with patriotism:
I will buy carefully.
I will take good care of the things I have.
I will waste nothing.
Sound familiar? The War Advertising Council, in 1943, sounded off another anti-inflation message:
Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Or do without.
Meanwhile, my new obsession with war-time and Depression-era cookbooks uncovered the frontispiece of Foods That Will Win the War and How to Cook Them by C. Houston and Alberta Goudiss (1918), which reads “This is what GOD gives us. What are you giving [up] so that others may live?” Words to the wise, whether you’re religious or not.
Related articles:
1. What is “Voluntary Simplicity”?
2. The Golden Rule
3. Simplicity and Consumption
4. Vonluntary Simplicity/Frugality Online Resources
5. 174-Year-Old Wisdom
Additional resources:
1. Everyday Foods in War Time by Mary Swartz Rose (1918)
2. Food Guide for War Service at Home, Prepared Under the Direction of the United States Food Administration by Blunt and Powdermaker and Swain (1918)
peppylady said,
June 8, 2007 at 8:37 am
Credit Card sure pushes unnecessary consumption.