Board of Aldermen

When discussing Buddhism today, a lady decided she would consider the 1st of the 4 Noble Truths, not from her suffering, but what she saw as suffering in her brother and sister's marriage. She stated that their suffering stemmed from the fact that the purchased things they could not afford. When the 3rd Turn of the Wheel came around, someone stipulated that their suffering is caused by living in America. Now I'm no uber-American, but for some reason this steamed me a little. How dare she live in America and benefit off of its style, and then turn around and critique it for being materialistic? But the more I thought about it, the less convinced I was of my own or any arguments regarding this issue. So I thought it best to present it to the Board, not as an assignment, nor as one of my typical rants, but as an open opinion topic. So I will put up several considerations and I would like for any or all of you to come up with an opinion on the topic and respond as you see fit.


Materialism, or, the American Self Script

Base Consideration/Definition:
-What is Materialism?
--Is materialism the desire of wants after the acquisition of needs?
--What are needs? (Maslow?)


Thought: American's are selfish, materialistic, and greedy.

-Is this accurate?
-Is this characteristic of America as a whole?
-Is this thought specific to America?
--If not, is it specific to similar cultures?


Consideration: Is materialism a historic anomaly?

-Meaning, can you consider materialism throughout history, or is it a byproduct of modern life?
--If it is an abnormality, why has it occurred?


If, in conclusion, America is materialistic...

-Is that inherently negative?
-What are the benefits?
--How has this positively affected our society and culture?
-What are the drawbacks?
-How would we be better off if we were a more giving nation?


So that's it for the considerations. Feel free to add anything, as this is certainly a nonconclusive list. Likewise, subtract anything you see as dispensable (although I do feel all those considerations and thoughts are essential). I look forward to your feedback.

i have no idea where to start on this. i hate you. i feel like i need to answer, but i don't want to. doing so would require me to put a few hours into turning my incoherent big hair babble into actual thoughts, or presentable text in this case, or else have the ugly feeling that i didn't fully address the subject which would cause flashbacks of Baker shaking her head at me dissappointingly. and i already have homework that i SHOULD be doing right now. so i'm not going to. you want a guncats opinion? then you give me a call, hang up quickly (forcing me to call you back out of curiosity), and then listen to the theme song of the texas rangers. simply delightful.

DAMMIT. materialism seems like it would have come into existence as soon as someone took something neccessary to life and improved upon it. Chad looked at Grogs Bedazzled sabre-toothed tiger pelt and was jealous. this new thing was termed "stuff" and everyone wanted it. stuff says something about your success. the Spoons have three big screen tv's in their house because they have money which means Sentiment is out and wasting money on stupid shit is in. now even though we, as level-headed blokes, know we don't need such things, we covet them cause we wants the bestestes too(too many EST/ES's on there. looks like balls). i want an I-pod so i can listen to all my listens whenever and wherever i wantseses (that's better. no balls). but there's also those whose primary reason for getting it is not neccessarily because its the new cool thing, but because everyone else tells them that they should want it. Daniel is jealous of Darek because Dareks I-pod has a bigger screen and can play movies so he tries to sell his current one and buy the new one with his rent money. this is stupid and is also very materialistic. now it seems as though i've stumbled into something completely different from what i set out for originally. i meant to make an arugement that materialism has been around for quite a while (thus the Chad as a caveman reference. aren't i hilarious) but through my incoherent big hair babble, i was immediately sidetracked. does jealousy have a direct correlation to materialism? when Darek busted out his new phone, all my previous opinions on a stupid gimmick phone with a bunch of unneccesary features that i would rarely use seemed to be immediately replaced with one thought: i want one too. because i need it? hell, no! but the simple fact that he had it and i was in its presence was enough to momentarily make me want it anyway. does anyone know where i'm going with all this? big hair!

Working from the following definition of materialism: the theory that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life (American Heritage College Dictionary, Fourth Edition [They call me the Earl of Citation lately]), isn't materialism the root of American ideals, in a very rudimentary sense? Out of life, liberty, and property, I'd say at least two of those feed right into that definition of materialism.

The drawbacks come in, as the french-armed feline suggests, not from American ideals but from human nature. "I already have a TV, but that one is fancier," we seem to say, collectively. The grass is greener ... blah, blah, blah, FK has this covered. This may be a skewed "American" perspective, but people want stuff, the best stuff they can get, and it is commendable that some resist that for the betterment of themselves/others/the world.

This comment seems to be an infusion of Longhair into big hair commentary. I've got more to say, but I need to mull it over before I build my own sandcastle. Good topic, The Darek, lots to ponder.

I reread my comment and it didn't quite convery what I was trying to say. Let me come at this again.

For me, that definition does not convery the ideal I am trying to get at with this topic. I think it's inclusion of physical well-being should not be included in our thought process. Perhaps it is not the definition that is wrong, but rather I am wrong for using the word materialism in a specific fashion. I would like to request that approach this without a definition, but instead to consider it using what we know and feel if the majority opinion on materialism. For me it would not include any sort of need, like physical well being. It would be more along the lines of desires and wants, excluding needs.

Perhaps this is a selfish request or missighted, but I want to get to the core of selfishness without being hampered by the moral constraints of needs. This will also allow us to consider cultures who are in the need status, along with those who are just progressing out of this phase.