Materialism and Human Society:
I think most will agree that there is a definite focus on material goods in today’s society. Often, objects are used as a social measuring stick. Whoever has more is deemed more successful. Many people focus their entire life on trying to obtain more and more money, more and more possessions, better and more extravagant pointless junk. In many cases, people’s lives revolve around material objects. While I believe this kind of a mentality of “I need more” is bad, I think there is something to celebrate hidden underneath this mentality.
Like I said, I agree that materialism is bad when taken too far. But, I think we need to celebrate the fact that a society like today’s society exists. Societies of the past couldn’t have even dreamed of the possibilities of the world today. A world filled with gadgets for any purpose, tools that can fix almost anything, electronics that can do magical things, foods from anywhere in the world, furniture of any kind, medicine to heal any sickness… And you see the list continues on and on and on. All of these objects at the tip of our fingers: just minutes away from purchase.
I could buy any kind of object. An object like a cellphone, something that would have been considered a miracle even 100 years ago. I could go on the internet, and have a purchase done within minutes. I could then have it delivered to where I live within days, even the next day if I so wish. How amazing is that? To someone from hundreds of years ago it would sound a little more like this: I have the ability to decide I want a magic item that holds almost the entire knowledge of the human race, buy it within minutes, and have it brought to me from across the world in an impossible amount of time.
If that is not something to celebrate I don’t know what is. Now as with anything, moderation is key. Excess is what changes it from something to celebrate and enjoy to something that is a problem.
We as a collective race have spent thousands of years developing to this point. A point where there are millions of fantastic and seemingly impossible objects available at our fingertips. Many of these objects would be incomprehensible to a person living hundreds or thousands of years ago. Our ancestors dreamed of a day like this.
So enjoy today’s material world for a bit. Don’t take the magic of today’s materialistic world for granted. Appreciate it! You have something that has spent thousands of years in the making. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to keep An Open Mind!
