Materialism

It is no secret that in a growing world based on capitalism, that the desire for material goods and financial success and stability is one that drives people to great lengths in order to achieve. This value is instilled at a young age, an age that in my opinion is too young to be worrying about. One Sunday, while in Church, I observed a little girl about 3 years old frantically try to reach out and obtain a dollar bill from a boy about her same age who was playing with it. The boy, obviously wishing to keep the money he had received from his mother refused to hand it over. The little girl proceeded to cry and remained upset until her father gave her a dollar of her own to keep her quiet. I was surprised at how much these children wanted money and how upset they were when they didn’t receive it or it was almost taken away. Kids as young as 3 or 4 had already learned throughout their life to recognize the influence and desire for money present around them. I think that as time goes on our society is becoming more and more materialistic in the sense that children are taught from a very young age to want money and strive to get ahold of it.
Even during the holiday season, which should be a time of family and celebration I saw frantic shoppers in the mall and stressed out salesmen, more concerned with finding the perfect gift or making the sales goal than looking forward to spending time with their families. I even saw this with my own family as we ran around putting up the tree and taking frequent trips to shopping centers to check each name of our cousins, friends, and secret Santas as we rushed to finish before Christmas Eve. I suggested we make a massive batch of cookies, divide them up and just go visit everyone but that didn’t fly. Though I have seen a lot of materialistic desires and concerns with financial ends of situations, I became especially adept to it throughout this season, when shopping is at an all-time high and everyone wants that perfect gift under the tree.