Sean Dengler. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Far too often in society, citizens are thought of as consumers. A citizen is a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized. A consumer is a person who purchases goods and services for personal use. To make a more well-rounded society, people should be treated more as citizens, not consumers.

News is an example of this difference. People used to obtain their news from the newspaper or television. In today’s world, social media is the dominant producer of “news.” There is a form of consumption that comes with reading a newspaper, the newspaper’s key role is to inform the public as citizens. Social media applications like Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, and others treat the public as consumers.

Social media’s algorithm keeps its users constantly consuming information with “news” it deems worthy to show the consumer. Whatever it can feed the consumer to stay on its platform, it will do. These social media platforms want to constantly engage their consumers. The more time spent on the platform the more likely its consumers see advertisements and do not use other social media apps. While impressive, the issue is everything the consumer is seeing is curated to the person. The downside is the platform does not fully inform the consumer.

Journalism’s job is to best inform its readers. News organizations use time-honored practices to publish fact-based stories to treat the reader as a citizen. They understand that the citizen can make their decision on what to believe. Unlike social media, which believes it knows best how to inform its users.

Other parts of society are similar. Since the dawn of time, agriculture has tried to feed the masses. The role of a farmer was to be a citizen, who grew the food for their community. I felt this role when I first started farming. I was happy to help the community. Unfortunately, the consumer system has tried to strip away this role.

Some products being grown by conventional farmers do not stay in their communities. Some are turned into ethanol, others exported to other countries while Iowa has become a state with a higher-than-average obesity rate. Farmers are treated as consumers to constantly use products that get a little more yield and make a little more money, then turn around and buy “better” products at the expense of being a citizen. The current system has struck down the idealistic vision of being a farmer. The consumer system has seen a lack of our products directly affecting the community within which we live. It creates a feeling of helplessness.

Not only does this affect farmers, but it also affects most of society being treated as consumers, not citizens. Maybe those in education or health care feel a higher purpose, but they are not immune. To not be caught in this consumer system, volunteering is the closest way to being a citizen. It allows a person to choose a cause they want to help. It does not allow a business to deem them a consumer.

The system will never be perfect. Unfortunately, the system has its thumb on the scale for consumers. This does not create a healthy society. Everyone deserves their own dignity to be treated as a citizen, not a consumer. Humans were not put on this Earth with the sole purpose of purchasing goods and services, but to be recognized as a member of their community.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.