The recent economic problems in the United States and throughout the world are devastating. However, they did not arrive without some warning. One must not blame the politicians, the banks, the auto-industry, etc. The finger of blame should be pointed at the sullen face in the mirror. Yes, that's right...YOU!
Most Americans tend to live their life without a care in the world. They buy what they want, as much as they want, and could care less about how their decisions tend to affect other people. People have forgotten how to take care of themselves and now require assistance from the government in order to live day-to-day. The government only exists because we are too lazy and greedy. Do you get along with your neighbor? Do you break into each other's house and take things that aren't yours? Do you get along with your ex-wife/ex-husband? Do you work together in order to raise your kid? Okay. I rest my case. So, why the need for government?
Human beings used to be able to grow their own food, build their own homes, provide their own transportation, trade with others for goods that they did not have, etc. We still do that today, however, we have other people do it for us. The business industry exists because people provide services that we refuse to do and would rather pay other people to do. Although it has made life easier for people, it has inevitably made us lazy and unable to fend for ourselves. People see a way to make a quick dollar and they exploit it until the bubble bursts ruining it for everyone (look at baseball cards and homes). We used to be able to be able to provide all of our own necessities and work out difficulties diplomatically. Because of our laziness, we have created ways to improve our lives and, at the same time, make us more vulnerable than we have ever been.
Why do car mechanics exist? Because people are too lazy to learn the functions of their own car and learn how to take care of it and keep it running efficiently. Now, we have auto mechanics who take advantage of uneducated (in terms of cars) people in order to make a profit. Not all auto mechanics are like this, but it does help them gain a financial edge on other competing businesses.
Why do restaurants exist? Fast-food is terrible for us, however, we consume more of that garbage now than we ever have in our history. Why? Because we're too lazy to do it ourselves.
"But I don't have enough time to shop, cook, and clean." Well, you're working at a job that has created that stress in your life. You have no one else to blame for your current financial and occupational situation.
"But I had kids". Well, nobody told you to have kids. You had plenty of opportunities to get a great education and better yourself, but you didn't do it.
"But my parents didn't raise me properly". Well, what makes you think that you're making things better for your kids by acting in the same manner that your parents did? You see, we all have excuses and we're all lazy. Yet, when faced with financial hardships such as the current one, we scream "foul!" and immediately find someone else to blame for our current situation. This is wrong and does not go to the root of the problem.
I argue that cars are a luxury and not a necessity. If you were able to separate your mind from your current situation and view the world from mine, you'd understand what I mean. When you really think about it, we really don't need to work at a job. The only reason we work is to pay for things that we don't need. We don't need to buy homes because we can build our own homes if we just learned how to do it on our own. We could feed ourselves if we learned how to properly farm our land. We could communicate with each other if we didn't expect instant gratification and responses. You see? All of our problems are created based upon OUR OWN laziness. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.
People who love their iPods, cars, computers, etc. all love something that was once a part of the Earth. Everything that we can touch comes from the Earth. What we consider to be wonderful and fun are usually things that are not necessary for the sake of living. We don't need televisions, we don't need chemical plants, we don't need computers, and certainly don't need people telling us what we need and what we don't need.
Human beings only need food, water, compassion (friends and family), shelter, and an education to fully take care of themselves and have the ability to teach their children what they know. There is nothing more than that. What you may consider a necessity, is simply not. The reason that you may think that certain things are a necessity are because of your personal choices and your laziness.
Sure, the internet has allowed for us to research topics, have an abundance of information at our fingertips, find love in another state or country, etc. However, those are all things that exist without the internet. You can fall in love without the internet and you can keep in touch with him/her without emails and/or webcams. You can find information without the internet, you just have to read more books or go to the library. Technology only makes us more lazy and more dependent on it. We have forgotten how to be human. We have forgotten how to exist as we once did. Life was hard back then, but one person's problem didn't tend to affect the lives of others. If someone couldn't build a home, they were left to not have a home. If they couldn't fish, tend cattle, or grow fruits and vegetables they starved. By embracing technology we are, in fact, regressing as a society.
Granted, technology has made life easier and allowed us to see and experience things that we probably never see or experience if that technology didn't exist. However, I believe that technological advances have taken away from many things. The beauty of a sunset on the beach is now available to anyone with a camera phone and/or a computer. Rare occurrences are now less impressive because of cameras and video cams. Love is now taken for granted because meeting someone else is so easy that it can be done by turning on a computer and paying for a bride from a foreign country. The experience of a game-winning homerun is now something that can be documented. When Babe Ruth called his shot in the World Series only the people at the game were able to see whether he did or not. Nowadays, everything is documented and the power of kid's bedtime stories are reduced into nothing. The experience of a Led Zeppelin, TOOL, or Pink Floyd concert is no longer limited to those to pay for the tickets to the show. Now, we have DVDs, camera phones, and video clips that we can watch to experience "somewhat" what an attendee experienced. Technology has decreased the value of things that were once held to be sacred and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
We refuse to cook for ourselves, fix our own means of transportation, educate ourselves and/or our children, and dispose of our own waste. Everything that we can do for ourselves is contracted out to someone else. We now, at least in our own confused little heads, can blame other people for not adequately performing a duty that we are very capable of doing but are too lazy to do. What happened to self-perseverance and the ability to take care of ourselves? We are now weak, pathetic excuses for human beings. We deserve this financial crisis and we only have ourselves to blame for it.
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