In the same vein as my post two days ago on money, how is it that we have we become such rampant consumers? It goes beyond the culture of possession, the desire to own the shiniest grown-up toys. There's the entire 24/7 consumption aspect of our lives. The desire for continuous connectivity or, to put it better, continuous diversion is distracting people from things that actually matter.
Portable music, streaming video, e-mail enabled phones, games on your freaking cell phone. What kind of person are you that you must play games on your cell phone? Where are you such that that is the best thing that you could be doing with your time? Admittedly, these connectivity technologies make a handful of the people who use them more productive, people whose jobs depend on the latest information and rapid response. However, for the most part, we don't need them. But we use them anyway.
How did we get here? The subconscious desire to be good little Americans and shop till we drop and consume till we burst? The relentless onslaught of advertising? The industrial military complex's secret machinations?
All irrelevant. If you think a man behind a curtain is pulling some strings, tricking people into being consumers, then you are missing the point. It doesn't matter if you, me, everyone is being manipulated. What matters is how we let it happen. It happens because we let ourselves be understood by others better than we understand ourselves. Thus, we are left open to their manipulations because we no longer know ourselves well enough to control ourselves. It happens because most people are not leaders and never want to lead, not even their own lives.
What's even worse is that most people think they are controlling their own lives when they are really not. They don't see how almost every decision they make is either irrelevant or the end result of waiting until there are no other options. The result is a shallow happiness when times are good and a terrible unease when not. There's no joy from knowing that you're living a principled life, one beyond reproach and that does not need the validation of others.
We need to think. To seize control of our lives and choices and understanding of the world and ourselves.
Damn, maybe I should stop reading The Fountainhead.
6 comments:
Last sentence in the third paragraph from the bottom, is it not stated backwards?
Sentence has been changed. I'll have to speak to my assistant about this sloppy work.
Or.... You could say this was a test of your loyal readership, but then we would expect a prize.
Better yet would be to take the sentence out, for it brings up an entirely new point. Oh well, it is hard to get good help these days.
I want posts to roll together and have one bring up a point to be addressed in the next. It helps the flow and it makes it easier to write the next post. That's what this last week has been all about.
sounds to me like "Big BLue" is getting under your skin?
Let me also add....that your generation is more consumer oriented than any other generation in our history. Whether it's electronics, cars, clothes, etc. your generation has bought it....hook, line and might I add...sinker.
But again, that's the american way. Go into debt to satisfy your desires. I'll worry about paying for it tomorrow.
The government loves consumers like you and your contemporaries. So do the banks. The more you spend, the more tax revenues you will generate. The more you pay with the credit cards, the more profit the banks will generate thru late fees and high(est) interet rate. You will never get out of debt, not in your life time if you just pay the required minimum!
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