Point conceded.There is a great social malaise,perhaps because of the ease with which our material desires can be achieved,a temporary salve,but in the end a hollow one.
Want a 40"flat screen tv?,just put it on the card,want to waste money remuddling a perfectly good house,go right ahead,get your ass in debt for a lifetime.
Never,in my 44 observant years have I seen so much waste of resources in accumulating worthless material goods,building pasteboard an plastic-covered kennels with such useless space as costs a King's ransom to heat,no wonder few people have any savings.
Is some sort of religion or spirituality the answer?well,as aught I can see whatever it be that makes one concentrate on the essentials of honesty,economy and the satisfaction of simply BEING is jake with me.
Organised religion,as we are aware,has served as the chief political stabilising and propaganda force in many nations,and as a corollary,to perhaps remind man of his true nature,which generally goes unheeded
The problem is one cannot legislate greed,lust,envy and the possibility of opportunistic theft,human nature being what it is,simply turn on the idiot box and view some advertisements that appeal to our baser {and most dominant}insticts.
My Gramps once said these things go thru cycles,he lived thru it all,the prosperity of the '20's and the comeuppance of the depression.
Each generation seems doomed{uh,predestined?}to repeat the same mistakes as previous ones.