Reflection in the MirrorTo read the intro to this retrospective series of posts, go here.
Original post date: January 24, 2007
Two recent surveys indicate that today's youth and young adults are more driven by material desires than previous generations. When asked what makes up their most important goals, over 80% of 18 - 25 years said getting rich was goal numero uno.
Am I surprised and shocked by this supposed revelation? Get real. There's nothing shocking about it all. I wouldn't even consider it breaking news.
The only real surprise is who some believe is the chief culprit -- parents. One psychologist said his research indicates that "when adjusted for inflation, parents are spending 500% more on kids today than just one generation earlier."
While I certainly won't argue that parents play a role in this changing dynamic, they are as much a victim in this rising sea of materialism as their children.
For me, the two prime culprits are the fused cousins of Christianity and capitalism. Both of these systems teach people that our worth as human beings is determined by our wealth as consumers and captains of industry. The more a person can accumulate, the more a person can control their own earthly destiny and get a better seat in heaven near the Big Guy.
It is a theme of separation. As isolated beings, our main concern is ourselves. How much can I get? How much status and power can I command? How much pleasure can I enjoy?
This is the explicit and subliminal message we are bombarded with on a daily basis. Therefore, since youth are mirrors of the overarching messages of society, is it any wonder that more and more young people crave riches?
I believe there's another dynamic here as well. Over the last two decades, particularly in the United States, the social safety net has been ripped to shreds and tossed aside. Far too many working families are struggling to keep up. Our children are learning that middle class status doesn't always mean access to quality health care or opportunities to attend college. These are the kinds of things the previous generation often took as a given.
The only way future adults will be able to guarantee these sorts of things for themselves and their children is by being financially well off. So, it stands to reason that obtaining wealth would be a chief goal.
If society wishes to reverse this trend, Taoism offers an easy way out of this materialistic quagmire. Since Taoists emphasize the interconnection of all things, this insatiable drive to feed the "I" is replaced with the desire to ensure the well-being of "All".
When the universe as a whole is our framework, materialistic goals simply don't mean much of anything.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Looking Back to 2007: Reflection in the Mirror
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methinks you doth protest too much (about christianity and capitalism).
ReplyDeletehumans, among many other animal species, seem to create pecking orders by default. (the phrase pecking order comes from chickens, which have a hierarchy. as do monkeys, dogs, etc.)
and these same goals of trying to be rich and powerful were in existence before capitalism came along, and before christianity came along. so blaming them is erroneous.
lao tzu was opting out of the pecking order of ancient china, and wrote about it. relatively few followed him then, altho many more claimed to be following him i'm sure. particularly when taoism was a powerful political force.
jesus opted out of the pecking order of ancient jewish culture. his message and parables, hanging around with poor people, saying the rich will have a hard time getting to heaven, was radical in his day, and radical today as well. but once christianity came to power in the roman empire, that power corrupted the message. many claim to follow the message, but few do.
so, i think your diagnosis of the causes is faulty, and simply shows which groups you dislike.
however, your prescription -- opt out -- is still good. and i think taoism is a viable path for that. i think an accurate reading of jesus' message can also get you there, altho few of the primary christian denominations follow it, so you'd have to find one of the smaller denominations, eg, perhaps quakers. (and it's not my personal path either; i've got no dog in the fight.)
--sgl
You should note that I was speaking of the problems in the US today. I didn't say that capitalism and Christianity were the ultimate causes of this problem.
ReplyDeleteAs RH Tawney and Max Weber (among others) pointed out in the early to middle portions of the last century, the fusion of capitalism and Christianity have elevated this decidedly human foible to a lofty pedestal.
" ...Christianity and capitalism. Both of these systems teach people that our worth as human beings is determined by our wealth as consumers and captains of industry."
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ. Those latter-day prosperity gospel guys will preach that, but they are far removed from traditional Christian values. Jesus taught just the opposite.
I hear this argument a lot: "Jesus taught the opposite." But who is to say what Jesus taught? Who is to say what "traditional Christian values" are?
ReplyDeleteFor example, modern day Christian evangelicals would argue that their faith is based explicitly on "traditional" values and the reason why America is now lost is because we have moved away from those values.
As with most everything else, belief solely is in the eye of the beholder.