Materialism, the highway to hell?

We live under a lot of stress. In the developing nations stress is unavoidable and revolves mainly around just trying to survive. Here in the developed world much of the stress is of our own making and is and should be avoided - "Don't worry - Be Happy"



A schoolmate of mine hates reading the news, it makes him angry and depressed. He finds it hard to cope with and was once thrown in jail for hitting his sargeant following an order he didn't like. But besides incarceration, stress also causes ill health, divorce, bankruptcy and death.

One of the primary causes of stress is our materialistic lifestyle. We've been brought up to wants things, the more the merrier and the bigger the better. We've also become selfish. The American ethos of "Freedom of the Individual" was fine for the days of the Wild West but has long since passed its Use By date. Besides the obvious problem of resource depletion and environmental degradation, materialism is causing us personal mental depletion and faculty degradation.

Consider for example the educated and industrious Chinese, Indian or Filipino sitting at home. They understand integral calculus, financial analysis or computer programming, yet unlike us Americans they can't buy a flashy car or huge flatscreen TV or take posh vacations in Hawaii. There's just too many of them and not enough work for them. Of course we in turn complain of outsourcing and unfair competition but if you'd worked as hard as they would you not feel aggrieved that you were so unfortunate as to have been born in the wrong country? Well, eventually, nations such as China, India and the Philippines will become "developed" and then will all be up the creek and fighting for a paddle. They will want a new car every 3 years, an overseas trip every two years and a nice big house that has the best heating and air conditioning that money can buy. We will be still un- or under-employed and complaining vociferously. Meanwhile we'll continue to be barraged by hard-sell TV Ads for irrelevant items and books by "experts" who can show you the special "secrets" to losing weight, fighting cancer by praying or earning a million in real estate or on the internet.

Americans, while fiercely independent of their own personal freedom, are astonishingly naive when it comes to advertising. We have been conditioned to believe all conspiracy theories such as Elvis, JFK and Global Warming and would sooner believe a loud, brash guru rather than think for ourselves. Here's a few facts:-

a) Elvis is dead, buried, gone, ceased to be and is pushing up the daisys - if you see him then try smoking or drinking something else.
b) Vaccinations do not give you autism - one rogue paper does not constitute "good science".
c) Global warming is real and you (and I) are causing it - ask the polar bears how they feel or perhaps it's time to buy tha bargain-priced Ski Condo?
d) You can't get AIDS by shaking hands or sitting on the toilet - it's exceedingly difficult!
e) Cell-phones do not make gas stations explode.
f) You cannot lose weight in 10 minutes per day - reduce your intake and increase your output that's the ONLY way.
g) It is possible for every American to have healthcare - just look abroad.
h) Financial gurus lose money - why are they telling you their secrets? Altruism?
i) There's no such thing as a just war.
j) Nigerians are poor, so why do they want to email you an offer for millions of dollars?
h) Big countries like wars, they think it keeps their technology boosted and energy supplies safe.

There is only one type of society that knows how to live properly. The societies that have exisited for the longest in harmony with the environment - the Australian Aborigines, the Pygmys, Hottentots, Amazonian Indians, Papua New Guinea Highlander and the like. The've managed very well for millennia and are now under severe threat from us. One thing they have in common is the absence of personal property and a focus on community property, community spirit and community obligation. We abhor and decry these traits as weaknesses when in fact they are our salvation. We will perish if we cling to our creed of

"I want it all. I want it now and in fact I want all yours too"

the end

PS Apologies to Queen.