The way I see it...
capitalism. This is quite a phenomenon no? enitre societies are driven by everyone competeing with everyone else in order to become the best. One would say, it inspires innovation, and it is the sole purpose that Human beings have become what they are today. Compared to a century ago, we have come a long way technologically, socially, what have you. In school we are taught that this is the way to be. This is what makes America the best and richest nation in the world. It took me a while to realize that this satatement is merely subjective. As I would think about it more and more, i discovered the flaws to the system. I began to ask myself, "Is what we are recieveing worth what we are compromising?"
What are we recieving? A good life, luxuries the world has to offer, a high standard of living....I would say all these things. But I have to ask the question, who set that standard? I mean look at it this way, From grade school we are taught to strive to achieve academic excellence in order to have good study habits which will be key into getting into a good university which will lead to landing a high paying job so that we are capable of affording all the nice "things" life has to offer. This is where the fatal error in judgement lies(in my opinion). All our lives, we work day in and day out at a job that we may or may not like, that is totally stressful, or even worse, boring. We typically work 9-5 (with no reguard to overtime), commute bach home in rush hour traffic to spend only one hour with family eating dinner, if that, and watch Television in the evening. We wake up and do it all over again. We work the whole year for those two weeks of vacation time, that slip through our fingers like sand. We do this so we can afford to go on those nice vacations or splurge on our credit cards at the mall on the weekends. It's a vicious cycle. The companies plant the idea in the consumers head that their life is incomplete until they are able to possess this "thing" that everyone else wants. So the consumer works and works towards this "thing" that is gurateed to bring them happiness....for about a day...until they see the next object of desire. People spend their entire lives people working for "things" and fail to enjoy the simple things. The things ironically, they go on vacation to enjoy, the sunset, the weather, sweet fruit for breakfast in the morning sun... I mean here's the thing my cousin lives in an extremely modest house. He dosen't have much, yet i envy him, because he has so much. He is content. Behind his house he has a garden. Half that garden is an unused basketball court. Out there, he has a few rocking chairs and a couch. You could spend hours out the just rocking away, either by yourself, or with good company. Fall asleep under the stars in that priceless california night.
My point is, that I don't think human beings were meant to sit dumbfoundedly for eight hours a day in front of a computer screen doing some b.s. work for some corporation that is out to make money off the average joe such as the one who works that very corporation. I mean, the lifestyle in and of itself just isn't healthy. All day you are sitting under flourescent light with no natural sunlight, You get minimal phiysical activity, which has lead to 2/3 of the population being overweight or obese. The work day just simply does not allow for adequate physical activity. People should not be so unhealthy in their so called "natural environments."
Even when it comes to schooling, people take out a loan on a house that won't truly be thiers for another thirty years, just to live in the affluent suburb with the award winning school system so thier kids will be endowed with the means to compete in the "real world" thus fueling the vicious cycle. Also, gas prices, the perfect all-american example of how big business is out to screw the ordinary citizen. Is it not a little ironic that just before peak driving season that the three major oil producers close down their refineries for maintenance? Also even more ironic, we have come so far in technology when it comes to refining oil, yet we have not built one oil refinery in this country in thirty years. For too long, the bulk of the population has recieved the short end of the stick. But the worst is still to come, it is a well known fact that whatever goes up, must come down. In the past century, the Graph of the American economy has been climbimg forming the "j" part of the j-curve. For the past 15 or so years it has leveled off, and now, we have began to plummett. China is getting ahead of us, and the United States will not be the worlds' super power much longer. I'm from Detroit, and the economic situation is in the sewers. There are no jobs and everyday the headlines talk about which jobs are being outsourced or howmany thousands of people are being layed off. The pain is being experienced all over.
I think people who have mastered how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, are truly wise. They live simply, enjoying things that don't have planned obsolenence in their breakdown. I mean would it be so bad, just sitting down for a day doing nothing for hours but thinking about the world in which you live. Evaluating where you are and where your going, Sitting down and really having a good conversation with someone without a television or radio blarring in the back ground. Staying up all night doing yoga just to conclude by watching the sun-rise? Would it be so bad not having everything they advertise on tv?
I mean, what the point of life? Are living to work, or working to live??
What are we recieving? A good life, luxuries the world has to offer, a high standard of living....I would say all these things. But I have to ask the question, who set that standard? I mean look at it this way, From grade school we are taught to strive to achieve academic excellence in order to have good study habits which will be key into getting into a good university which will lead to landing a high paying job so that we are capable of affording all the nice "things" life has to offer. This is where the fatal error in judgement lies(in my opinion). All our lives, we work day in and day out at a job that we may or may not like, that is totally stressful, or even worse, boring. We typically work 9-5 (with no reguard to overtime), commute bach home in rush hour traffic to spend only one hour with family eating dinner, if that, and watch Television in the evening. We wake up and do it all over again. We work the whole year for those two weeks of vacation time, that slip through our fingers like sand. We do this so we can afford to go on those nice vacations or splurge on our credit cards at the mall on the weekends. It's a vicious cycle. The companies plant the idea in the consumers head that their life is incomplete until they are able to possess this "thing" that everyone else wants. So the consumer works and works towards this "thing" that is gurateed to bring them happiness....for about a day...until they see the next object of desire. People spend their entire lives people working for "things" and fail to enjoy the simple things. The things ironically, they go on vacation to enjoy, the sunset, the weather, sweet fruit for breakfast in the morning sun... I mean here's the thing my cousin lives in an extremely modest house. He dosen't have much, yet i envy him, because he has so much. He is content. Behind his house he has a garden. Half that garden is an unused basketball court. Out there, he has a few rocking chairs and a couch. You could spend hours out the just rocking away, either by yourself, or with good company. Fall asleep under the stars in that priceless california night.
My point is, that I don't think human beings were meant to sit dumbfoundedly for eight hours a day in front of a computer screen doing some b.s. work for some corporation that is out to make money off the average joe such as the one who works that very corporation. I mean, the lifestyle in and of itself just isn't healthy. All day you are sitting under flourescent light with no natural sunlight, You get minimal phiysical activity, which has lead to 2/3 of the population being overweight or obese. The work day just simply does not allow for adequate physical activity. People should not be so unhealthy in their so called "natural environments."
Even when it comes to schooling, people take out a loan on a house that won't truly be thiers for another thirty years, just to live in the affluent suburb with the award winning school system so thier kids will be endowed with the means to compete in the "real world" thus fueling the vicious cycle. Also, gas prices, the perfect all-american example of how big business is out to screw the ordinary citizen. Is it not a little ironic that just before peak driving season that the three major oil producers close down their refineries for maintenance? Also even more ironic, we have come so far in technology when it comes to refining oil, yet we have not built one oil refinery in this country in thirty years. For too long, the bulk of the population has recieved the short end of the stick. But the worst is still to come, it is a well known fact that whatever goes up, must come down. In the past century, the Graph of the American economy has been climbimg forming the "j" part of the j-curve. For the past 15 or so years it has leveled off, and now, we have began to plummett. China is getting ahead of us, and the United States will not be the worlds' super power much longer. I'm from Detroit, and the economic situation is in the sewers. There are no jobs and everyday the headlines talk about which jobs are being outsourced or howmany thousands of people are being layed off. The pain is being experienced all over.
I think people who have mastered how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, are truly wise. They live simply, enjoying things that don't have planned obsolenence in their breakdown. I mean would it be so bad, just sitting down for a day doing nothing for hours but thinking about the world in which you live. Evaluating where you are and where your going, Sitting down and really having a good conversation with someone without a television or radio blarring in the back ground. Staying up all night doing yoga just to conclude by watching the sun-rise? Would it be so bad not having everything they advertise on tv?
I mean, what the point of life? Are living to work, or working to live??
posted by ~Shro~ at 5:41 PM
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