Appeal to Oprah

Today on The Oprah Winfrey Show, they were showing people who had taken a challenge to simplify their lives by going for a week without certain things like tv, internet, excessive toys, clothes, shoes, going out to eat, etc.  I thought it was a great idea, except for one thing: one woman's "problem" was that she had a whole year's supply of food and other products (like shampoo and other householdy things) for her family that she had gotten by looking for good deals!  And I don't think it ever mentioned whether she was in debt or couldn't afford to do it; it just made it sound like it was excessive.

Yeah, all the Mormons reading this are going, "?!?!!"  :)

Since we LDS folks believe that this is not a bad thing at all as long as you do it wisely, I wrote to her, and I just wanted to suggest that anyone who would like to do the same.  If you need ideas on what to say, read what I wrote.  (Please don't copy any of it, though, because I want her to take it seriously if she ever does read it.)

I tried to be all cool and attach my letter as a file so it wouldn’t have to take up space on the post, but I’m not sure there’s a way to do it, so here it is.

Dear Oprah,

I'm writing about today's show, the "What Could You Live Without?" experiments, which my husband and I enjoyed. However, we did take issue with one thing, and we wanted to run it by you to see if you might agree with us.

Our religion teaches us that it is a good idea to be prepared, and one of the things our leaders have counseled us to do is to collect a year’s supply of food and other things we use every day. This is in case of loss of income, natural disaster that might limit food availability, or any other unforeseen circumstance. We agree with these teachings, and many of our members can testify that following them has been a true blessing when adversity struck.

My husband and I can’t afford to buy a house yet, and we look forward to the day when are in a situation where we can start building our year’s supply. As I looked at the shelves of foods, shampoos, and other things in that woman’s house, I was practically drooling, because that is exactly what I want to have someday. It made me sad when being so prepared was described as a problem.

Maybe this woman is in debt for all those things, which of course would not be wise and is not at all encouraged in our church. (And I do agree that having four vacuums isn’t necessary.) Otherwise, isn’t it smart to be prepared, and self-reliant?

If this seems like sound logic to you, maybe you could mention it to your viewers.

Thanks for your time, and thanks for making a show with relevant and interesting topics, which we enjoy very much.

Yours Sincerely,
Kristina Noall