"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly."
Bertrand Russell
"I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With 6 kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I’m living high off the hog, I’ve got one paycheck. So I..I struggle to meet my bills right now. Would it be easier for me if I get more paychecks? Maybe, but at this point I’m not living high off the hog."
Sean Duffy
It seems like lately we hear quotes like the one from Representative Duffy a lot from those on the Right. Especially when they are seeking to defend budget cuts, and austerity measures, and other ploys and plans that adversely affect the working classes. Understandably the standard reaction from Progressives is to mock and deride people who say such things. Call them clueless, and heartless, and out of touch and greedy.
I not only understand such reactions but I've had them myself.
But I'd like to suggest that we take a step back and look a little deeper. Because I think that such statements point to a deeper truth. An ugly truth that we are all loathe to grapple forthrightly with.
We are a nation addicted to consumption.
Every last one of us. We are kept in a state of perpetual false need. Through advertising, and through peer pressure. We are sold want, and desire, and fear of not having.
We are convinced that with just one more thing our lives will be complete. A better job, a lover, more friends, a spouse, an I-Pad, a new car, bigger boobs, things, Things, THINGS!
The worst part of this sickness is that it is cruelly deceptive. "I'll be happy once I get a raise... Oh man I wish I had a new boat like Bob's, I know I'd be happy with a new boat... My life will finally be complete when I meet the man of my dreams and he marries me..." But there is no end to it.
Not unless you choose to end it.
Now don't mis-take me here. I'm not some knucklehead carrying on about the nobility of the destitute, nor am I suggesting that wanting and having "things" is inherently bad.
What I am saying is that when you filter everything in your life through a materialistic lense, your view of the world, your fellow humans, and yourself will be forever distorted, quite probably irrevocably.
So now I bet you're wondering what is to be done about those who are not only infected with this sickness but seem to be bound and determined to spread it.
Well clearly they must be stopped. Their message of materialismus uber alles must be shown up for what it is. An effort to spread a very dangerous virus of the mind and spirit.
But I think it best if we do not do it from a place of hatred. But rather from a place of compassion. Like dealing with a rabid animal. The animal must be stopped, kept from infecting anyone else. But we don't hate the animal. Rather we pity it and wish to keep anyone else from sharing its fate. Likewise should we pity anyone who when confronted with the suffering of those who have less than them, can only enumerate all the ways in which they think of themselves as having the worse situation. Pity them and pray that we ourselves never become so deeply afflicted.
Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!