I was just ordering books for my wife's inter-session class and I ran the prices through a new "WishList" manager, called "WishRadar"...It's pretty helpful...etc. As I was contemplating posting a link to my List on this site, however, it crossed my mind that we are not only defined largely as a country/culture by what we own, but now we're defining ourselves by what we want to own.
I believe in dreams, goals and ambitions...No problem with those. However, whose dream, honestly, is it to own a Playstation 3? When did such widely available 'goods' as conversation, education, and the pursuit of personal autonomy and growth become so debased and devalued as to be undesirable when compared to the magic of digital surround sound?
I would bet that, if you asked them, many people within 10 years on either side of my age (23-43) would probably have a difficult time describing their ideas on freedom and empowerment and what those ideas mean in their own lives. For those who answered with some degree of clarity, I doubt that many would be having regular conversations on the subject, unless you happen to have asked Tony Robbins.
As I write this, I am stuck with the image of the pink goo in the Matrix, feeding an unaware humanity what it takes to keep them alive and running the machines. Substitute "plasma TV" for "pink goo" and "economy" for "machines"... -- Not that people are literally eating and digesting televisions, of course...No metaphor is perfect.
I suppose that I could go on to describe the generally neediness that's characteristic of all of humanity and the futility of the vain attempts to address that neediness with any and every device within our control. Maybe that's Part II...
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