Materialism

“And I am a material girl, living in a material world” (Song by Madonna)

It is interesting that sometimes a person can have an entire thought process stop, and change because of something they hear in the background noise that is playing on the radio. Yesterday as my 35 mile (55 km) commute from work to home was coming to its end I switched stations to one that was playing that song. It started me thinking on our world. With so much going on in our lives I started to get all introspective about that one line in the song.

Wikipedia says the following: Materialistic describes a person who is markedly more concerned with material things than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values; an adherent of materialism.

So, that got me to think about where I stand on the matter. Do we live in a material world? Yes. Am I materialistic? Not completely. Why do I say that I am not completely materialistic? That is really for a few reasons. I can’t deny the premise completely because a little bit does exist in my life. For example, I live in a condo. If I were completely non-materialistic then I would live in a tent in wilderness, or at least in an apartment. My condo has furniture in it; if I were completely non-materialistic then it would have boxes, crates, or bins. Yet, the part of me that says that I’m not really materialistic is viewing the fact that I drive an older car that I love and don’t really want a new one. Yet another part of me says that hey, lets get real I live in a condo not a house if I was truly materialistic then I would have to live in a house. So the train of thought got me going on another very interesting point: does the meaning of materialism depend on your society, on your social standing and in what environment you live in?

My answer is yes, it does. For one group of people being materialistic is having a home (be it a condo or a house), having new furniture, and driving a new car, or any variation of the list. For another group being materialistic is wearing a $3000 wig, rather than a $10 hat or a $2 snood. For yet another group being materialistic is driving a Mercedes or a BMW rather than an Acura or a Lexus. I believe it all maters on personal belief and the environment where you live, where you choose to live. An example that I’ve seen being mentioned on blogs around is having a cleaning lady versus not having a cleaning lady. To one family having a cleaning lady is part of the family budget and is living within their means, to another it is living out of their means and it is more a case of keeping up with the Joneses (or Goldberg’s).

The truth behind it all is that materialism really doesn’t bother me. I think mainly because I’ve never really cared what other people do or say and I do what is right for me and my family. I don’t look down on people that are materialistic and I don’t look down on people that are not. However, what I do absolutely hate are people who say that they are one thing but behave and act as though they are another. That I’ve always hated.
I just cannot understand why people can’t be honest with themselves. Why is it that they stand their and portray one image and then turn around and do something that this image definitely is not a portrayal off. It reminds of the people that just wear the garb to be a religious Jew. They wear a black hat, and act high and mighty but then on a date with a girl they ask her if she wants to go to a hotel room (yup, this happened to my friend, if you are wondering she said no and told the shudhan, I’m so proud of her). So it is on this level that I am speaking about. What is the purpose of being fake? I guess that is one that has to be explored further. Whatever you are, just be proud of yourself. We are not put on this world to act for others in a way that you think that they think that you should be acting, unless of course you are an actor.