Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Actually, I read this question on another blog. So calm down. You're getting worked up over megapixels on a screen.
It's the Great Debates..........can't I post questions that are DEBATABLE?
I am not worked over this. I am getting involved on the debate, not more no less. So what is your reply anyways? Did you avoid the answer by giving me this reply? I do agree, this is debatable, so please debate. Take care.
They emigrate to this country so they can have financial security, which is exactly OP'e theory. I agree with OP, but the reason Americans are so obsessed with money is because we can't live without it. That's the main reason. As for the getting rich thing, which isn't really necessary, since all that is necessary is having enough money to survive, and not own yachts and mansions, that is mainly due to our materialistic society and advertisers constantly pummeling us with messages that we cannot be happy unless we buy this and buy that, which of course requires lots of $$$.
Are you saying that only Americans are obsessed with money because we can't live without it? So the other countries can live without money?
What is your definition of rich? Regardless of your answer I will venture to say that it is a subjective view of what it is to be rich. With this in mind, to say that being rich is not really necessary depends on personal opinions.
However, you stated that all that is necessary is having enough to survive. OK, so if I tell a low income family "you have three meals, a roof, and a job so you are surviving" regardless of the quality of those items he or she will say "Yes, I am happy surviving".
It is interesting that materialism has been something every society in history has looked for. It is human nature to try to get material gains. So what is wrong if many American have gained material things? I suppose to you it is only important to survive. To others it is important to survive but also to enjoy life, ensure your retirement in old age, etc.
Are there materialistic people, of course there are. Those that the only thing that they see in front of them is money, others see it as a means to support families, ensure their future, help others, etc. not just survive.
OOOOPS! wrote a long paragraph again so the OP will again say I am all worked up yet ignored the long paragraphs that support his ulterior motive. My guess is to comment on a perceived reaction rather than debate. The bottom line to me is this. You can take a look at all the negatives but what are the positives? To me that is what I see as indicators of the peoples motives. I am not rich and yet I am happy and are able to see the negatives and positives, not just say how bad American are. Take care.
I think perhaps its more about accomplishing something often that brings money. Its like money and happiness which represents ability to buy essentials needs. A lack of money can bring unhappiness but money can't buy happiness.its same reason why so many of those not having it want to share others wealth altho it never works out because it devalues what they get to the bottom level.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I asked people that only talk about how bad it is to point for positives. From what I can see they do not comment on that part. It seems that they are only focusing in the bad, why? I would like to know. Take care.
Americans are conditioned to be single-minded about the purpose of life, which is to make money.
Americans are taught that life and everything is all business. A workaholic lifestyle is considered to be the norm that one strives for. Such a narrow focus on life suppresses creativity and imagination, and makes life dull as well.
In America, the pursuit of money has REPLACED the human soul. Thus the eyes of Americans look empty and plastic, not soulful or passionate. Their eyes often look depressed too, as though they've been overworked and been over consuming too much with nothing else to live for.
Chime in. Your thoughts?
DISCLAIMER: I read this question on another blog. I thought It would make for interesting conversation. So, DO NOT attack me.
Which is completely true.
It is all about money in America. Love for money is the first thing one is taught in life and how one must have it to be a bona fide person. W/o money one is looked upon as trash and seen as wrong.
The whole point is that this country was made into a land of revenue generators for a small group of people interested in 'growing' investments. It is a game for sure but they love the tool of money as everyone everywhere seems to love it immensely and will do anything to get it.
Now it isn't even about every American being rich, it is the thought of money and how much one might have that really gets them excited. Or the things one might buy that make them happy in a trained response sort of way. Americans know money is all-important and they will never understand anything that goes against that unshakeable belief. They will jump up and say being poor is one's own fault for being lazy, having money is proof one is smart. They've been trained exceptionally well to love money. Even the rich are considered little more than hateful ATMs there to provide money for worker and bum alike thru jobs or philantrophy. Is it any wonder that state lotteries and casinos are everywhere in America? Visit Las Vegas for a few days and you will learn everything about the baser qualities of America just by observing the rush of money-obsessed people jamming here and there to be around money and those winning or losing it. It's like America's spiritual center.
I've met people from all over the world and those folks seem much happier than Americans. They can still make money but their upbringing didn't make such an emphasis on loving it, just to treat it as a game (which money-grubbing is) and never lose more than one can afford. That's how smart foreigners treat money, like a game. Americans see it as a religious icon.
You won't make much headway with an American if you seem to disparage money since it is of such paramount importance to their daily life. In America only two things fire up the imagination: How to make more money and how to make oneself a splendorous attraction that people will spend their money on as they talk about them.
It seems to me that most people in most nations in most epochs will strive for material gain, if given the practical opportunity, and especially if spurred by a feeling that pursuit of wealth is laudable and morally upright. The genius of America is fusing a strident religiosity with an endorsement of hustling to pursue gain. America is rare, if not outright unique amongst first-world nations in its religious fervor. But unlike most religiously intense societies, America unabashedly values material gain, and offers the rule-of-law for persons to be secure in their property, both in the earning and in the retaining. There are many societies which are just as materialistic, but they are more atheistic. There are many societies more suffused with a public spirit of religiosity, but they are either less materialistic, or less secure in property rights (or both).
However, one great cause of unhappiness is the disconnect between what's potentially possible, and what is actually achieved. In a more limited society, in a corrupt society where wealth is confiscated, or in an impoverished society where wealth can't be achieved save by stealth or predation, the potential is low. So if we fail to achieve wealth, we can blame "the system". Where "the system" can't be blamed, and we only have ourselves to blame, well, if we don't succeed, would we not be unhappy? If my dog ate my homework and consequently I received an "F", I can blame my dog. If my parents beat me and I couldn't do my homework because I was cowering in the basement, I can blame my parents. If my teacher hates all members of my race and failed me despite my having written a good paper, I can blame my teacher. If terrorists closed my school and class was cancelled, I can blame the terrorists. But if I have only myself to blame for failure, I become unhappy. It is easier to be unhappy here, precisely because there is so much theoretical potential to succeed.
For some, the love of money can destroy families. My in laws wanted to move to the beach and retire but they had a house they had to sell first, so they offered the house to my wife and me for $200,000, my wife was a little upset because they paid 145,000 for it three years earlier and made no improvements.
We had the house appraised which infuriated my in laws because they saw it as a lack of trust, so when the appraisal came back at 160,000, it made things worse between her parents and her, I could of cared less because I had always known money was all they cared about. So the longer my in laws had to stay, the madder they got, four months later they finally received an offer for 155,00 and they took it. Btw, it should be noted they already owned three other houses including the one they were retiring to at the beach, which is on the Ocean and worth about 1.5 million, they owned it out right.
That was about six years ago and the rift it created has been horrible, she hasn't spoke to her parents in about 4.5 years, they haven't seen their grand kids at all in that time who are 13 and 15 years old. No Christmas, nothing. All because of money..
It seems to me that most people in most nations in most epochs will strive for material gain, if given the practical opportunity, and especially if spurred by a feeling that pursuit of wealth is laudable and morally upright. The genius of America is fusing a strident religiosity with an endorsement of hustling to pursue gain. America is rare, if not outright unique amongst first-world nations in its religious fervor. But unlike most religiously intense societies, America unabashedly values material gain, and offers the rule-of-law for persons to be secure in their property, both in the earning and in the retaining. There are many societies which are just as materialistic, but they are more atheistic. There are many societies more suffused with a public spirit of religiosity, but they are either less materialistic, or less secure in property rights (or both).
However, one great cause of unhappiness is the disconnect between what's potentially possible, and what is actually achieved. In a more limited society, in a corrupt society where wealth is confiscated, or in an impoverished society where wealth can't be achieved save by stealth or predation, the potential is low. So if we fail to achieve wealth, we can blame "the system". Where "the system" can't be blamed, and we only have ourselves to blame, well, if we don't succeed, would we not be unhappy? If my dog ate my homework and consequently I received an "F", I can blame my dog. If my parents beat me and I couldn't do my homework because I was cowering in the basement, I can blame my parents. If my teacher hates all members of my race and failed me despite my having written a good paper, I can blame my teacher. If terrorists closed my school and class was cancelled, I can blame the terrorists. But if I have only myself to blame for failure, I become unhappy. It is easier to be unhappy here, precisely because there is so much theoretical potential to succeed.
Very insightful comments! I like it. In the end we can blame society and/or "prove" how bad our country is. However, I simply decided to talk about the other positive side of the coin. To me it is very important to tell people that they are a big factor on what destiny they build in their lives. We can blame everybody around us but when you we do that we must look at our hand that is pointing to those around and see how many of our own finger are pointing back at us.
Despite all the perils and the picture painted by those in this and other forums I do remember that my mom and dad that immigrated from Mexico to have a better life for their children. They did not spend their time to point the injustices that existed against Mexicans in the 40s, 50s and later. They rolled their sleeves and kept working to make it a better life. They told us that hard work bring rewards. One of those rewards is to earn money to have a better life. I am not one to keep pointing how bad America is. Sure talk about problems we have but to see how we can help to fix them, not be part of the problem but the solution. To me this is just a whinny attitude.
So yes, again, there are selfish materialistic people as one writer presented but just as there is an example of materialistic people there are examples of people that are not that way. I am aware of that but there are many good hard working people that to them money is simply an end to the pursuit of happiness. Also, this country became great because of imagination and other great attributes, not just for the negative stereotypic perception the OP presented. And no, I am emotional as I write, just presenting a debate point of view. Take care.
Very insightful comments! I like it. In the end we can blame society and/or "prove" how bad our country is. However, I simply decided to talk about the other positive side of the coin. To me it is very important to tell people that they are a big factor on what destiny they build in their lives. We can blame everybody around us but when you we do that we must look at our hand that is pointing to those around and see how many of our own finger are pointing back at us.
Despite all the perils and the picture painted by those in this and other forums I do remember that my mom and dad that immigrated from Mexico to have a better life for their children. They did not spend their time to point the injustices that existed against Mexicans in the 40s, 50s and later. They rolled their sleeves and kept working to make it a better life. They told us that hard work bring rewards. One of those rewards is to earn money to have a better life. I am not one to keep pointing how bad America is. Sure talk about problems we have but to see how we can help to fix them, not be part of the problem but the solution. To me this is just a whinny attitude.
So yes, again, there are selfish materialistic people as one writer presented but just as there is an example of materialistic people there are examples of people that are not that way. I am aware of that but there are many good hard working people that to them money is simply an end to the pursuit of happiness. Also, this country became great because of imagination and other great attributes, not just for the negative stereotypic perception the OP presented. And no, I am emotional as I write, just presenting a debate point of view. Take care.
The reason that many/most of us do not share your optimism is because the America that become great that you speak of doesn't exist anymore. In the last 30 years, the monied elite have stacked the deck so heavily in their favor that average honest Americans don't stand a chance and are doing well just to survive.
With few exceptions, individual wealth today is in directly inverse proportion to individual integrity. Wealth today doesn't come from hard work. It comes from gaming a corrupt system that does not serve the people's interests. It comes from knowing how to steal from people, get away with it, and yet sleep at night.
Those of us who proudly lack those characteristics don't recognize the country we grew up in.
I think what care about most is getting the most out life that we can. Accumulation of wealth is just a necessary means to that end.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
