13.9.06

Tina's comment on my last post got me thinking again about this topic of media influence on American society. The American Dream is such a fallacy. Not everyone can "make it" because there is a finite amount of money. If somebody has a large portion of that money, it means that somebody else doesn't have it. That's where the credit card companies jump in, allowing even the plainest of Average Joes to buy the things necessary to project an image of a certain level of status. Want to show that you're moving up in the world? Go ahead, buy that new Lexus; just charge it to your card. So what if you have to spend the next 10 years of your life struggling your way up the corporate ladder to pay it off? Oops, did that major purchase cost you exactly the quality of life you were hoping to gain? Too late now. Visa's on your butt and the interest is adding up. Might as well buy something else that costs more than you have; it'll be your only reassurance in a life that is becoming increasingly dismal due to overblown ownership.

I miss Germany.

Gotta go; more on this topic later.