Consumer vs. Citizen

OK, I've had enough of being referred to as just a consumer. When did "American consumer" become synonymous with "American citizen"? Listen to CNN or Fox, and you will hear the word consumer at a ratio of about 30 to 1 to the word citizen. Enough! We are not locusts, measured entirely by our ability to strip the fields (and malls, and car dealerships, and jewelry shops) clean. The extent to which the word "consumer" has replaced the word "citizen" (or even the word "American") is a symbol of how corporate marketing, greed and easy credit have overwhelmed the classic idea of citizenship with a tidal wave of shopping. I want to take back the word citizen--you know, someone with duties, responsibilities and rights as a proud American--and not just the right to slap down my platinum card to buy some piece of junk. Americans are producers, and family members, and voters, and church (and temple) goers, and thinkers, and engineers. Let's ditch the "consumer" label, once and for all.