We are indoctrinated by the media to view ourselves as nothing more than flesh-and-blood furnaces: we define ourselves by what we consume. To consume means to burn. We "burn" money, we burn all the consumer goods that we buy with hard-earned cash or on credit.

But is that all there is to human life? Did the geniuses of the past, or even the common folks see themselves as consumers? Of course not! Consumerism is a recent invention. Before that it went without saying that a human being had a higher purpose in life. Would the great men and women we admire have accomplished what they are remembered for if they had been content with the low level of existence that the media tell us is the height of happiness: to eat, to drink, to wear clothes and drive vehicles and acquire entertainment devices?