A day off the grid

Last Sunday the pastor of the church we were in challenged the congregation to spend a day avoiding exposure to advertising. (At least, that's what DH told me--I had hustled an exuberant DS out of the sanctuary at that particular point in the homily.) Not a bad suggestion. But not easy, either. I don't watch a lot of TV, so TV ads are easy to avoid. But if I leave my house, I can't drive more than a mile without encountering a billboard. And now thanks to google ads, I can't even check my email without something on the sidebar. But those are pretty easy for me to ignore, or even laugh at. In fact, chances are that if something is advertised on a google sidebar or a billboard, I will be less likely to favor it (unless it's food. Food on billboards is not playing fair.). I guess you have to know your weaknesses. For me, I imagine I am more vulnerable to the non-ad "sponsorship" lines on public radio. Sponsoring public radio appeals to me as the sort of thing a well-to-do, socially conscious, intellectually snobby business would do--just the kind of business that appeals to my vanity. So maybe for me the pastor's exhortation means a day without public radio. Oh my, that sounds lonely.