Do you feel as confused and manipulated as I do with this question, "Should I spend or should I save?" I think that the messages we get 1 our environment seem to defy common sense and contradict each other. The government tells us to spend or we'll never 2 the recession. At the same time, they tell us that 3 we save more, our country is in grave danger. Banks 4 higher interest rates so we increase savings. Then the same banks send us credit card offers so we can 5 more. The paradox is that every day we get two sets of messages at odds 6 each other. One is the "permissive" perspective, "Buy, spend, get it now. You need this!" The other we could call an "upright" message, which urges us, "work hard and save. 7 your desires. Avoid luxuries. Control your appetite for more than you 8 need." This message comes to us from many sources: from school, from parents, 9 from political figures 10 to "traditional values". Hard work, family loyalty, and the capacity to postpone desires are core American values that have made our country great. But the 11 message, advertising's permissive message, is 12 . 13 sometimes disguised, the messages are everywhere we look: on TV, in movies, on printed media and road signs, in stores, and on busses, trains and subways. Advertisements 14 our daily lives. We are constantly surrounded by the message to spend, spend, spend. Someone recently said, "The only time you can escape advertising is when you're in your bed 15 !"