Money, Politics, and Happiness

A major problem with America is how we measure our total net worth. The gross national product system, or G.N.P for short, is used because it signifies the amount of money made by American companies overall, not just within national boundaries. This way an American company that outsources in Bangladesh can have their profits totaled up with the rest of America’s profits. It is used because it makes it look like America earns more than it actually does. After all, only the high level executives are the American’s earning money. However, this may not be the case. The American company does not have to be owned by an American. An American company owned by a Japanese company that outsources its work to Indonesia would still have its profits added to America’s G.N.P.

Another drawback of G.N.P. is that it measures everything as a positive. Let’s say that there was an oil spill and it took roughly $20 million to clean up. That money would be added to the G.N.P. – raising it by $20 million. To me, that goes beyond the realm of being counterintuitive and into the realm of absurdity. The government is spending money, yet it records it as a profit.

As I stated in an entry before this one, Americans have to relinquish their obsession for money and start doing things that make sense. Why would anyone actively try to prevent environmental disasters if the money spent fixing the damage is just going to make it look like America made more money than it did? It is a fact that the happiness of Americans peaked in the 1950’s. That’s at a point in time when American’s had far less material objects than they do now, yet they were happier. The average American today believes that money will bring happiness. This is an illusion – we only want what we cannot have. Once we have something, we toss it into the corner and think about the other things we don’t yet have. So wouldn’t it be more desirous for Americans to want something that is hard to achieve such as love, happiness, and reversing the negative affects we’ve caused to the environment? It would take a lot longer to achieve than standing in line and paying a few hundred dollars for a new gadget and the benefits would last a lifetime.

The solution is to start using a method to measure our national profit that uses both positives AND negatives. That way we have a true sense of how much we’re making. After all, all we’re doing is lying to ourselves when we present that number as a profit. Adding negatives into the mix lowers our numbers, but gives America more motivation to make more money and reduce the negatives i.e. things that affect the environment negatively. This alone may be the push America needs to start combating global warming, the use of dangerous chemicals, and the use of nonrenewable resources. If more money won’t motivate our money-obsessed country, then I don’t know what will.

Consumerism In America: Have We Crossed The Line?

Consumerism in any society has the potential to cause more despair than it does joy and happiness; however, when it is moderated by the individual it can become a magnificent thing that lacks any pressing flaws.

Consumerism gives people the opportunity to do many things with the freedom of choice they have and purchase whatever it is their heart desires. Desire can be a double-edged blade however. Fulfilling desires through purchasing goods is a great thing to be able to do, but how fulfilling are the desires you’re fulfilling? You would have to question whether or not those new products are truly going to make you happy or if the happiness is just on the surface. Also, when do these desires become too much and start to take over your life so much that you have pushed everything else away from you that should really be the center of your life? This is how consumerism can become a flaw within society. When the purchasing and want of goods becomes too big of an itch to scratch, you will spend all of your time trying to alleviate the itch by purchasing new things. Where does the money come from to purchase these new things? More often than not it is from working and working takes up a large amount of time in the average person’s life. The time spent working then interferes with time that could be spent doing more rewarding things such as achieving a personal goal or developing a relationship. In that way consumerism hinders progress greatly and is not beneficial to society.

Consumerism is not all bad. In fact it can be extraordinary at times. Most people engage in some form of consumerism whether it is buying clothes, food, shelter, or some form of transportation. Very few people are self-reliant these days. Since everything is mass produced and can be consumed it leaves people more time to do things such as spend time with their family, develop a relationship, exercise, educate themselves, or any other number of things that can further develop a person’s happiness and well-being. There are many things a consumer-oriented culture can achieve that have positive affects for the entire society. In American society owning a Hummer says something different about the person who bought the car than it would if the person had bought a Toyota Prius. The person consciously bought the car knowing how society would label them when they were seen driving around in the Hummer. The freedom to be perceived as we wish by society is a great thing to have.

So what is the compromise? Consumerism is a great thing for a country to have as it enables people to a wealth of options that have favorable affects. However it is up to the consumer to control their own personal desires and want of things. With an ever growing want, someone’s life will be consumed by material goods which will ultimately take away from everything that really does matter in life. Whether or not consumerism is a beneficial or negative thing is really up to the individuals within that society. It is perfectly acceptable to desire things, but when that desire grows and grows to the point it cannot be satisfied, that is when you need to reflect on your life and decide what truly is important. That is the point where consumerism becomes a negative. Too much of anything is never a good thing, but in moderation many things are helpful. If only the people within consumer cultures could limit their spending on products they wouldn’t have to work so much. If people did not work as much, they would have less to spend which could translate into not going shopping and doing things that cause personal growth. If people stop buying so many products then companies would make less, which would mean people would have to work less. Ultimately it is up to the consumer how their time and money is spent. That one decision affects a variety of things that eventually all come back to the consumer in one way or another.

Consumerism can be a positive or negative thing within a society. It is all dependent on how the particular society decides to engage it. If all the society wants to do is purchase goods then the people within that society will work much more than people in a society who spend most of their time developing relationships or focusing on their own goals. It is a question we all have to ask ourselves. Do we want material goods or do we want personal development? It all depends on the type of person you are asking. Some people are more than content with just working and purchasing goods while others search for more meaningful values in their life. There is no right or wrong for consumerism because in the end consumerism isn’t making any decisions. It is just there because people want it to be there. Whether those people use it in a beneficial way or negative way is their decision.

Sincerely,

The Guy Blogging

P.S. - What's your take on this? Do you think America or the rest of the world for that matter is too easily swept into the world of materiel goods?

The Host and the Parasite

As the inevitable progression of technology presses on, the world is becoming ever more chaotic. We humans are a virus on Earth. Think about it. Every other living thing in nature is at equilibrium; everything is balanced. We are the exception. Over the many years we have evolved into more intelligent creatures, creating new ways to ensure our survival. Wild animals don’t hunt us anymore in the civilized areas of the world, most of us are not starving, and most of us have some form of shelter. Yet, ironically, we have become exceedingly worse off. We have not grown more intelligent, but more foolish. Humans have become both predator and prey. We kill each other off as we ravish the land and pollute it with the blood of our brothers and the dirt of our society. No, we are not a great species…we are severely flawed.

We are destroying the world that provides us with life and nourishment. What kind of world do you want your children to live in? A world where the sun is blocked out from pollution? A world where grass is replaced by concrete and trees start appearing in museums? We’re killing off animals for fashion and for the sick pleasure it gives some. We’re putting so many chemicals into our bodies and into our environment that food actually has to be marked as organic. This is ridiculous.

What’s the real reason the world is being destroyed? Money. Commerce is ruining our environment. Oil companies are charging $3 a gallon, but are making billions of dollars a year. So I ask you, why do they charge so much? Short answer – they’re greedy, capitalist, selfish scum. It’s not as though our government doesn’t benefit from oil sales either. We can create bombs that can destroy the Earth, but we can’t find an alternate fuel source? It’s not that they can’t, they just don’t want to. They want the money. If cars ran on water and emitted CLEAN waste products who would be making money? No one and that’s the problem. The government isn’t happy unless they’re making money off you somehow. They can tell you anything in the world, and it’ll be a lie. Bill Maher put it best when he said “Be more cynical.” Why are people clubbing baby seals for their fur? To make money? At what? $30 to sell your soul? Is it even worth it? I wouldn't do it for any amount of money so how fucked up do you have to be to do it for $30? To see what I’m actually talking about, go watch a PETA video. You won’t see baby seals getting killed hopefully, but you will unfortunately see animal cruelty at it’s worse. It enrages you in such a way that feelings of violence creep into your head more than just once.

So what is the message of this post? It’s that we, as human beings, have serious issues and we need to repair all the damage we’ve caused or we all have big problems. We need to stop killing each other in pointless wars over land and oil. No, the land isn’t yours because you can’t own it. You can't pack it up and take it with you when you move. It’s not something to be owned. It’s something to be respected and treated with care. If we took care of the land, the land would take care of us. So stop claiming everything is yours because you have a piece of paper from the government stating it’s yours. It’s not yours, it’s no ones to claim. Who does the land belong to? Nature. And as long as you care for and tend the land, nature will allow you to stay on that land for many years. A nuclear war almost broke out between India and Pakistan over a small piece of land called Kashmir. They both thought they had claim, so instead of conversing about it and negotiating about it, they decided it would be easier to just blow each other’s countries up. If the UN hadn’t gotten involved, who knows what would be going on right now, but we would all be affected.

People are so dependent on oil that if gas went up to $5 a gallon they’d still pay. Why? They’re addicted and addiction is a dangerous game. Though this is less true in nations other than the US as I know some European countries mainly use bicycles and public transportation to get from place to place. Also the citizens are more likely to ride bicycles than to repudiate the notion.

If it makes you feel better go ahead and murder the Earth and everything living on it. That will solve all your problems; just make sure you pay for therapy afterwards.

Sincerely,
The Guy Blogging

P.S. - What's your stance on the situation? What about our world pisses you off the most?