The current recession may be an excruciating cold-turkey termination of a life-long addiction into which too many of us have been brainwashed by the pervasive marketing/advertising machine — of our government as well as commercial producers.

We buyers of products and services stopped being customers decades ago in the eyes of manufacturers and marketers (whose eye is only on the bottom line), and we became “consumers.” Children are no longer protected from the subtle marketing messages of youth-media programming and public venues, but are purposely recruited into consumerism as young as possible.

I was deeply disheartened by the well-documented facts revealed in “Consumed.” But this recession may force sufficient numbers of us into awareness of our addiction to things we don’t truly want (never mind need), things that don’t bring lasting satisfaction in their ownership because we’re constantly bombarded by commercial and political propaganda influencing us to define ourselves by what we have and — more important — display.

Maybe this will be the “Stop conning us!” recession. The “Your propaganda doesn’t work on me any more” recession. Maybe we’ll become aware of the “influencers” who have practiced the art of “roach baiting” on us. (These are marketing terms. I’m not making them up.) Once we can tell the chocolate from the dog-poo, we’ll stop swallowing the $#!%.

Maybe the influence of consumerist propaganda will recede even after the economy recovers.