Stuff...*huah!*...What Is It Good For?
What is it about Americans that causes us to try and gather as much stuff as we possibly can and to live WELL beyond our means? This is the question that I’m going to try and address today.
Historically speaking, all great civilizations go through an expansion phase that eventually ends. This is not to say that the American “civilization” is great by any means, but when compared to some of the other “options” that one has when it comes to choosing where they live, America isn’t really that bad.
Take, for instance, living anywhere in the Middle East. Women are suppressed and are not viewed as equals (heck, sometimes they aren’t even viewed as humans and more like a possession). The people really don’t have the right to vote on anything. Sure, they “vote” on small issues, but as it is in many other places, the vote doesn’t really count and it’s up to a vast minority of people to determine what is best for the people as a whole (sound familiar?). This, apparently, works for them…more power to them.
In America, almost everyone has the right to vote (if you’re under 18, the government says, “Sorry, kid…you’re too young to really care or devote enough time to research the options and make an educated decision about anything”). Women are STARTING to be equals to men. We have semi-free commerce (sales tax sucks). We have the freedom to choose whatever religion we want to follow without the interference of the government. We have the freedom to say pretty much whatever we want (within reason, it seems). America isn’t that bad of a place.
Then why, if we have it so good here, do we find it necessary to acquire more and more goods that mean absolutely nothing and that don’t do anything to better our lives? Is it the joy of spending money? If your answer to that question is yes, please let me know and I’ll send you my address so that you can just send me the money instead. Is it the desire to be competitive and try and keep up with our neighbors? If your answer is yes, you need to live next to me because I’m getting rid of a vast majority of my things. You won’t have to spend any money at all, and can, therefore, give me the money you would have spent! No, I think the answer is far more involved than either of these simplistic things. Let’s delve deeper.
If you were to take a look at the Roman Empire at it’s peak, I think you would see people that were prosperous, that spent money on nonsensical things, paid their taxes dutifully, and did all the other things that good Romans did. What I find interesting is the fact that, while we’re doing something similar in our own civilization, we aren’t mindful of the fact that the Roman Empire fell and wasn’t successful over the long term. Define ”Insanity” – Doing something over and over again in the same way and hoping for different results. If this definition holds true, then the revelry in decadence will come to an end…but not the way that most people hope for.
So, if we look at how we are as a civilization (and I’m talking mostly about Americans here): we see that we spend money faster than we make it, we purchase items that mean nothing and do nothing simply to obtain them and hope for some small piece of joy to come out of it and then - when the joy is gone - we do it all over again, we take pride in the way that we do things and we try to go to other countries to set up small versions of our government in the hopes of making little clones of us all over (this is, of course, another topic)…the list could go on for pages.
What, then, do I think will happen to our society? Well, quite honestly, I think we’re in for a rude awakening. One of these days, our senseless spending and over extension of our bank accounts and credit accounts is going to come back to bite us on the rear. It’s going to happen, and when it does, it’s going to be bad.
Perhaps one of the most important things that I think we, as a society as a whole, could learn was written over a thousand years ago – True happiness doesn’t come from anything that you can experience with any (or all) of your five senses. True happiness, we’re talking complete and total peace and contentment, comes from within. Sure, I could go purchase a new book. This book could give me joy and a sense of accomplishment (once I’ve finished it, that is), but the feelings that this thing gives me are very short lived. In a day or two, I’ve begun to forget about it and have gone back to my equilibrium state. To be TRULY happy takes contentment. Contentment comes from the mind, body and soul.
In the movie Fight Club, Tyler Durden (if you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t explain his existence) states: “You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your khakis” and then “The things you own end up owning you.” Both of these statements are exactly right. We shouldn’t be tied down to worthless trinkets and senseless purchases. You want to buy a DVD to watch? Go right ahead…but don’t expect it to change your life or make you happy long term. It’s just an item…it’s nothing. If you let that nothing define who you are…what does that make you?
Historically speaking, all great civilizations go through an expansion phase that eventually ends. This is not to say that the American “civilization” is great by any means, but when compared to some of the other “options” that one has when it comes to choosing where they live, America isn’t really that bad.
Take, for instance, living anywhere in the Middle East. Women are suppressed and are not viewed as equals (heck, sometimes they aren’t even viewed as humans and more like a possession). The people really don’t have the right to vote on anything. Sure, they “vote” on small issues, but as it is in many other places, the vote doesn’t really count and it’s up to a vast minority of people to determine what is best for the people as a whole (sound familiar?). This, apparently, works for them…more power to them.
In America, almost everyone has the right to vote (if you’re under 18, the government says, “Sorry, kid…you’re too young to really care or devote enough time to research the options and make an educated decision about anything”). Women are STARTING to be equals to men. We have semi-free commerce (sales tax sucks). We have the freedom to choose whatever religion we want to follow without the interference of the government. We have the freedom to say pretty much whatever we want (within reason, it seems). America isn’t that bad of a place.
Then why, if we have it so good here, do we find it necessary to acquire more and more goods that mean absolutely nothing and that don’t do anything to better our lives? Is it the joy of spending money? If your answer to that question is yes, please let me know and I’ll send you my address so that you can just send me the money instead. Is it the desire to be competitive and try and keep up with our neighbors? If your answer is yes, you need to live next to me because I’m getting rid of a vast majority of my things. You won’t have to spend any money at all, and can, therefore, give me the money you would have spent! No, I think the answer is far more involved than either of these simplistic things. Let’s delve deeper.
If you were to take a look at the Roman Empire at it’s peak, I think you would see people that were prosperous, that spent money on nonsensical things, paid their taxes dutifully, and did all the other things that good Romans did. What I find interesting is the fact that, while we’re doing something similar in our own civilization, we aren’t mindful of the fact that the Roman Empire fell and wasn’t successful over the long term. Define ”Insanity” – Doing something over and over again in the same way and hoping for different results. If this definition holds true, then the revelry in decadence will come to an end…but not the way that most people hope for.
So, if we look at how we are as a civilization (and I’m talking mostly about Americans here): we see that we spend money faster than we make it, we purchase items that mean nothing and do nothing simply to obtain them and hope for some small piece of joy to come out of it and then - when the joy is gone - we do it all over again, we take pride in the way that we do things and we try to go to other countries to set up small versions of our government in the hopes of making little clones of us all over (this is, of course, another topic)…the list could go on for pages.
What, then, do I think will happen to our society? Well, quite honestly, I think we’re in for a rude awakening. One of these days, our senseless spending and over extension of our bank accounts and credit accounts is going to come back to bite us on the rear. It’s going to happen, and when it does, it’s going to be bad.
Perhaps one of the most important things that I think we, as a society as a whole, could learn was written over a thousand years ago – True happiness doesn’t come from anything that you can experience with any (or all) of your five senses. True happiness, we’re talking complete and total peace and contentment, comes from within. Sure, I could go purchase a new book. This book could give me joy and a sense of accomplishment (once I’ve finished it, that is), but the feelings that this thing gives me are very short lived. In a day or two, I’ve begun to forget about it and have gone back to my equilibrium state. To be TRULY happy takes contentment. Contentment comes from the mind, body and soul.
In the movie Fight Club, Tyler Durden (if you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t explain his existence) states: “You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your khakis” and then “The things you own end up owning you.” Both of these statements are exactly right. We shouldn’t be tied down to worthless trinkets and senseless purchases. You want to buy a DVD to watch? Go right ahead…but don’t expect it to change your life or make you happy long term. It’s just an item…it’s nothing. If you let that nothing define who you are…what does that make you?
posted by LaTech at 9:09 AM
4 Comments:
In a word, GREED. It is rather unfoutunate but the world we live in rewards the greedy. Granted the rich are not rich simply because they are greedy, likewise the poor are not poor because they lack greed, or they choose to be poor. In many cases the want of things is not only an exercise in "collecting crap," but rather collecting objects/tools that allow some to exercise some sort of power and/or control over others. If the fact that I have 2 gigs of ram makes you envious and therefore causes you to want more, I've gained a measure of control over you. Most important is to determine the motive for collecting certain items. Some people collect things for centimental reasons. These things are usually given or do not cost a lot and are generally kept for a reason and not displayed with a neon sign or exploding scoreboard. These people are the packrats, their motivation is centimental and guilt at the loss of something that they may one day need. Other forms of collecting are for pure amusement. Granted my PDA will not take me to a higher plane of awarness or enlightenment, but it is a fun tool that I enjoy. I find personal satisfaction in using and personalizing it to suit my need and alter my lifestyle. Beyond the simple motive of collecting, you eventually come to the point of asking the question "When is enough?" This is the point where, beyond the original motives, pure or not, greed/obsession can still be a factor. This is where you ask "How much money does Bill Gates really need?" or another good example, "How many cars does Jay Leno need?" These people are well beyond the financial constraints of "meeting the bills" and this is where the question of collecting and greed meet the social obligation of assisting others and other social responsibilities. This is by no mean an exhastive look and the idea of collecting and even your assertion of sending you the money is an appeal to collect funds. We all need certain things, beyond that we all find joy or centimentality in certain posessions; there is nothing wrong with that per se so long as we keep in mind that they are merely earthly posessions. As is often the case we are typically defined by the most drastic of examples, which are in many cases movitated by greed. This holds true to other activites besides collecting. It is a diacotomy of sorts that the "human spirit" is driven to push the limits of our existance, but to what end? And is the idea pushing to find a cure for cancer any more noble or "less greedy" than the push for more stuff/power when the end result is that we all die in the end anyway (if not from cancer then something else)? The enduring human spirit that drives us to do more is in many cases a drive to move beyond ourselves, beyond death, beyond God, to become "gods." This is at odds with our religious and social values that lead us to die in order to be with God, and to serve God and others. I don't have any answers, but that's just my $0.02.
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You obviously dont understand the power of diamonds! hehehe
I take credit for this blog idea. :)
I credit myself for this blog idea. :)
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