“Subvert the Empire! We need to subvert the Empire!”

Some of my friends will passionately express this when our conversations arrive at topics of consumer products or shopping, or anything related to them. If you heard them talking, you’d probably think they were crazy.

Empire? What Empire? Who are they to question the American way of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Excuse my heresy, but I always thought that it was really noble of my friends to be so willing to do things like purchase fair-trade products instead of buying a well-known brand for the cheapest price they could find, using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic, and even purchasing hand towels to place in the bathrooms instead of paper towels.

They looked like they were really embracing this whole “Go Green” campaign, so it seemed enough for me to just encourage and support them in their endeavors, rather than participate myself. It just wasn’t for me.

I helped out the earth in other ways — turning off the water faucet when I brushed my teeth, using the new aspretto cups in the dining halls to drink the eco-friendly/fair-trade coffee, and recycling. There wasn’t that much of a difference between me and my crazy friends.

But there was — and it goes much deeper than the question of paper or plastic.

When I hear someone yelling, “Subvert the Empire!” I think of a small group of radical people ready to violently overthrow the government, or at least hold picket signs outside a building to practice their freedom of speech and let their voices to be heard.

But it’s not about advocating radical violence or loud protests, per say. It’s about fighting something bigger than we are, through actions large and small, radical or personal.

It’s turning off the lights when you leave the room. Carpooling whenever possible. Buying a reusable water bottle instead of going for plastic.

This Empire enforces the belief that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — at any cost — are the ultimate goals. It teaches that relentless consumerism and ruthless ambition will get you there. Underneath it all, the Empire promises security, prosperity, social harmony and power, but it misleads.

However, when we take a look at examples of those who supposedly attain these goals, we see something completely different. Look at Tiger Woods: he was supposed to have it all — he started working hard at a young age, got win after win after win, along with fame, money and a beautiful happy family in a happy home. That’s the kind of life everyone’s supposed to be aiming for, right?

Time and time again we’ve seen how lies are often hidden beneath things that seem beautiful and good, and how those very efforts to earn more for ourselves actually put others down. The Empire never told you that the higher you raise yourself, the further down someone else has to go.

We watch the tragedy of Haiti in shock from afar and pour out our resources to bring aid, but Haiti was dying long before an earthquake struck its lands. We look at Haiti the same way we view commercials for puppies that need homes or orphaned children that need our economic support — we may sympathize for a moment, but we forget about it when our favorite television show returns.

Maybe it’s crazy to say it takes more than just passively responding to emergencies or opportunities to “do good” for others when situations arise. Maybe it sounds crazy that it’s not enough to actively seek participation in organizations that help “make the world a better place.”

But maybe it wouldn’t be so crazy if we would acknowledge the need to step off our pedestals of pride and realize that when we continue to accept the lies of unchecked consumerism, we continue to be the cause of the problem.

I used to think my friends were crazy — but not anymore. What was once crazy to me now looks more like reality, when I subvert the Empire.