Consumerism Breeds Materialism Options

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The United States Government spends money more than the hardworking citizens can make it. Whether it be investing blindly into international ventures that fail miserably; like spending an estimated seven billion dollars a week liberating a certain Middle Eastern country, or borrowing consistently from economic powerhouses such as Great Britain or Kuwait, citizens of the United States will forever be paying for the government’s debts. Since the people of America have no say-so whatsoever in the politics of economic affairs within our trusted government, there is nothing we really can do. Before long, this entire country is headed into an economic recession that will be the digital, high-speed version of a depression.

How odd is it that the citizens of a particular country make the same mistakes of their government? Apparently, given the recent spending habits of Americans, it’s not odd at all because the motive for luxury is consumerism. After speaking with a Political Science/Economics student at the University of Texas-San Antonio (pursuing his second master’s degree), he presented me with a detailed analysis of several studies he, as well as other organizations he’s affiliated with, conducted over a course of a year. Several different individuals had their spending habits under close observation. Each person was from a different walk of life and of different economic brackets. The results, in retrospect, only foreshadow more failure with the economy.

America, in general, has become a borrowing nation of consumers. The purpose of living and the goal of success is to attain as much useless “stuff” as possible. The everyday middle class rat race is to appear to be wealthy. The rich just want to get richer. And the poor, well, the poor don’t want to be poor at all, but a simple taste of the “good life” has many thriving, by any means necessary, to be at the top of the food chain. As a result of all of this lusting and loathing, hustle and bustle, Americans try their damndest to make as much money as possible, only to spend it. To no surprise, many Americans are in debt, regardless of age. 18 year olds just establishing their credit find themselves in a hole while 30 year olds, in the midst of a decent career, are struggling to get out of the hole they dug for themselves at 18.

With this constant desire for wealth, Americans have learned to love the Almighty Dollar. What they can accumulate, in turn, becomes the most important things in their life. Enter; mindless materialism and false idol worship. Regardless of what you believe in, regardless of your standpoint on religion, we should never reach the point where money is the only thing worth living for.