March/April 2007 Issue

Can Shopping Make You Happy?

From the looks of these people, no.

    Photo Essay by Brian Ulrich


In 2001, citizens were encouraged to take to the malls to boost the US economy through shopping, thereby equating consumerism with patriotism. The Copia project, a direct response to that advice, is a long-term photographic examination of the peculiarities and complexities of the consumer-dominated culture in which we live.

Flushing, NY, 2004
 

Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 2006
 

Edinburgh, UK, 2003
 

Chicago, IL, 2003
 

Gurnee, IL, 2003
 

Edinburgh, UK, 2003
 

Chicago, IL, 2003
 

Gurnee, IL, 2003
 

Untitled, Thrift, 2006
 

Chicago, IL, 2003
 

Cleveland, OH, 2003
 

Gurnee, IL, 2005
 

Gurnee, IL, 2005
 

Lyndhurst, OH, 2004
 

Chicago, IL, 2003
 

Medford, NY, 2003
 

Granger, IN, 2003
 

Untitled, Thrift, 2006
 

Untitled, Thrift, 2006
 

Kenosha, WI, 2003

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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