Excessiveness

Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Excessiveness
6
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 11:19am

I don't even know if that's a word, but I'm making it up!


This kind of goes along with the McMansion thread.

Avatar for cfk_3
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
In reply to: cl_shywon
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 11:24am
Affluence?
Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
In reply to: cl_shywon
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 1:21pm

But even people who aren't rich have a sense of entitlement.

Avatar for cfk_3
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
In reply to: cl_shywon
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 4:41pm

Yes, I know what you mean now. There is a sense of "friendly" competition everywhere you look it seems. It's not about loving thy nieghbor, it's about one-upping them. I all but removed myself from all of that . . . I just won't participate.

Well, there is ONE girlfriend whom almost pushes me to my brink. Out of all the friends I've had through the years, she is the one who makes me want to achieve greatness. Not for me, but so I can shove it in her face. Isn't that awful???? Ha! It's true, though! Just one. One girl. I do not know what it is about her, but I wish I did so I could turn it off. It's boys, cars, homesteads, friends, pets, clothes, jewelry, art, music, the list goes on. You name it; she's trying to turn it into a competition. I try to ignore it and see it for what it is, low self esteem, but she makes it hard sometimes. I've even considered letting the friendship fall by the wayside, but no, I can't do that because she has gotten herself intertwined with ALL of my friends. It's kind of odd, actually, the way she does that.

Sorry. Back to the topic at hand. Maybe with our society becoming more and more selfish, people are growing up with more holes in their hearts so, they are trying to accumulate, accumulate, accumulate in order to fill the void.

Or, maybe our values have gotten all out of whack. It's not about substance but substantiating. The fact is, I think *some* of the folks who participate in all of this excess don't have anything else in order to prove their worth. Do you know what I mean? They don't have adoration from their families because they don't have the time to nurture those relationships and it's a vicious cycle because they are only making the wound bigger by looking in all of the wrong places for happiness.

Then again, maybe we're just a greedy nation who happens to have the dough to waste.

Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
In reply to: cl_shywon
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 7:49pm

Ya know, that makes sense.


Back in "the day", people had their families to hold on to when they didn't feel good enough.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-06-2003
In reply to: cl_shywon
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 7:31am

I could never figure out why people would want to live for a house. I think it instills a sense of power in them. Right now there are so many foreclosures it's unbelievable. I think alot of people are putting their "dream" home together where they plan to live happily ever after. I am more concerned about my surroundings now than when I was married...go figure. Call it old age or just a nasty marriage, not sure.

It does seem to be this need in a lot of people to have it all. The only problem is that is all they have. I could never live like that!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
In reply to: cl_shywon
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 9:51am
The trouble is, though, a lot of people DON'T have the dough to spend - a lot of people with those big houses, fancy SUV's, and big-screen TVs are in debt up to their eyeballs.