Materialism

"No social system will bring us happiness, health, and prosperity unless it is inspired by something greater than materialism." Clement R. Attlee.

No words ring truer than those of Clement Attlee. In a world bound and maintained by materialism, what hope have we for happiness?

We are a people so consumed by momentary ideals that we too often forget the value of the immaterial. Friendships, once forged by similar hobbies and laughs, are now bought and exchanged, priced and weighed. Family becomes the whisper of the past instead of the focus of the future. Love, the truest and most altruistic human emotion, is now defined by “how much.”

Value is placed on the temporary: looks, cars, clothes, phones. We are appraised on the basis of our exterior, deemed worthy without the necessity of introductions. Our holiday wishes boast of iPods and new shoes, and charity was always somebody else’s job. What has become of the human race? What has become of humanity…when we sit idly in front of T.V screens, unmoved by the deaths around us, yet clamoring to get the latest technological gadget?

Why have we strayed so far from what is real? Why do we choose vanity over gratefulness? Depression is at an all time high, yet people wonder why. We dedicate our lives to the easily gained, never realizing that it is all so easily lost.

So I ask you, dear reader, are you truly happy? Are you placing value in things that matter? And, most importantly, do these values stem from society or from you? Never forget the importance of the individual. Never forget the vastness of the world. And never ever forget yourself.