Emphasis on Looking...
I just glanced through an article about how to look rich when you're not. To be honest, I skimmed the article because I was so frustrated with the title, with the whole idea of wanting to look rich. I could not just ignore it. (I'm not the ignore it and move on type). Why would appearing rich be a goal? I just cannot understand. I recently heard a conversation in which someone was judged, verbally degraded, for dressing down from what (s)he used to dress like. I guess this individual must not look wealthy enough any more.
These are not isolated readings or conversations. This seems to be a fairly typical mindset. The richer we appear, the better we dress, the fancier our homes appear, the better we like it. And the better other people think we are. In our capitalistic, nationalistic, money-is-everything, wealth-is-the-reason-we-do-anything society, our appearance is everything. How many churches even teach the disgusting, anti-biblical viewpoint we should dress up for God?
I was just thinking the other day about promotions for kids in Africa. Don't get me wrong, I think it is of utmost importance to help people that need help. I am not one of the people who say we should "help our own first." I've heard that argument too many times. I say people are people and whoever needs help, we should help. There should not be an order in which we help others. If we see a need, we should help if we can. However, I do have to wonder if we emphasize poverty in third-world countries to avoid reflecting on and helping and assisting the poor in the United States of America. There are areas of extreme poverty in our own country, and we really hear very little about those areas and the people who dwell there. I have to think it is because to admit their poverty would be to admit our country, our capitalistic system has a flaw. I believe this is why we blame the poor for their situations. Our nationalism will not allow us to admit the system we have is not perfect.
In the same way, I have to think our nationalism leads to the want (notice I said want, not need) to look wealthy. We worship wealth. The more wealthy we can appear, the better we like it.
These are not isolated readings or conversations. This seems to be a fairly typical mindset. The richer we appear, the better we dress, the fancier our homes appear, the better we like it. And the better other people think we are. In our capitalistic, nationalistic, money-is-everything, wealth-is-the-reason-we-do-anything society, our appearance is everything. How many churches even teach the disgusting, anti-biblical viewpoint we should dress up for God?
I was just thinking the other day about promotions for kids in Africa. Don't get me wrong, I think it is of utmost importance to help people that need help. I am not one of the people who say we should "help our own first." I've heard that argument too many times. I say people are people and whoever needs help, we should help. There should not be an order in which we help others. If we see a need, we should help if we can. However, I do have to wonder if we emphasize poverty in third-world countries to avoid reflecting on and helping and assisting the poor in the United States of America. There are areas of extreme poverty in our own country, and we really hear very little about those areas and the people who dwell there. I have to think it is because to admit their poverty would be to admit our country, our capitalistic system has a flaw. I believe this is why we blame the poor for their situations. Our nationalism will not allow us to admit the system we have is not perfect.
In the same way, I have to think our nationalism leads to the want (notice I said want, not need) to look wealthy. We worship wealth. The more wealthy we can appear, the better we like it.
Comments
Post a Comment