Hello Everyone, A long time ago I was taught that the American Dream was to scratch myself to the highest position in my occupation, get the biggest house, drive the nicest car, and to own as much of everything that I could possibly afford. This Dream was introduced by a country that had just finished fighting one of the most tragic of wars in history, WWII. Well deserved was this dream for those men and women who survive the horrors of that war. They were offer GI Bills, scholarships, and loans from the government to help them achieve this American Dream. Banks created artificial wealth and introduce credit cards. Automotive Industries established loan companies that consumers could use to purchased new cars through their dealerships. Banks became friendly after years and years of depression resulted in mistrust in them. Eventually, everyone "caught on" to how to achieve the American Dream. Our fathers and mothers worked hard to give us a better life and I am very glad that they did, but at what cost to us has it been. What have we lost that is of more value than the material wealth we have inherited or acquired over the last couple of generations? Are we still chasing the American Dream? Or, is it chasing us? Today, 90 percent of all households would declare themselves bankrupt if one or more of the "breadwinners" lost their jobs and could not regain employment within 90 days. In three months they would have used up all their savings to pay the mortgage, the car payment(s) and the credit cards. Food would have to be purchased on the credit cards during those three months of unemployment. What would happen then, if for example after three months there was no means of support. The house would be foreclosed! The car would be reposessed and the credit cards would be canceled! We are a society of people whom have been lulled to sleep by the thought of an American Dream. The American Dream worked successfully as a tool to pull this country out of a great depression and a horrible war. I was a manufactured attempt to rebuild our great nation into what is today the greatest nation on earth. But, this tool, this manufactured ideal has met its time and has now turned us into a nation of co-dependant slaves of debt. To be in debt is just like being a slave, someone once said. You can only go as far as the chains will allow. How far can you go? Some people have very long chains and can afford many luxuries. Others can barely move! Thoreau once said something like this...a man's wealth should not be measure by how much he has but, by how much he can do without. Doing things for yourself except among many homesteaders is a nearly archaic idea. Most people can not do even the simplist task with the aid of "lots of money" or "lots of shopping". I know people all over that will spend large amounts of money on things just never to really receive the satisfaction of a job well done. Never receiving a balance in their investment of cash verses the outcome of the project. Scott Nearing said, something like this.....a man can telephone the hardware store and have them deliver the hardware that he needs to finish a project and learn the value of a dollar. Or he can make the hardware himself and learn the value of himself. That is exactly what we are losing in this time, in this great nation....The value of ourselves! We have allow the dollar to replace the things that our ancestors knew and did out of necessity. We have traded away our self-reliance for a better wage, a bigger house and a nicer car. With this kind of thinking, after the dollar is gone....we are gone, bankrupt,foreclosed,cancelled. But, with our ancestorial way of thinking...we have values, self-reliance, strength of character, and most importantly freedom. Nothing is greater than a freeman. With freedom you can chose what you want to do. I don't mean just your occupation but, what you want to fill your time with. Drive down your neigborhood after twlight and glance around at how many homes are reflecting a blue lumius glow through their windows. TV! That is what most people do with their free time. They can't help it. Its cheap entertainment, right! Wrong! The TV is costing your more than you realize. Names of products are flashed in your thoughts every eight to ten minutes thoughout you veiwing. You see the names of products dozens, maybe hundreds of times, not really thinking about its quality or useabilty, until....you run to the store for milk or breard or other basic item you said that you needed but, was just going to pick up and come right back. You get to the store and flash!, the product you saw on TV is there in front of you! It looks good, you need it, you buy it....pay for it with your credit card even. You go home, play with it, use it, and then what? It sits around, maybe it gets broken, maybe you put it in the closet, whatever! But, the point is that you were made to purchase it! You are a slave to consumption because of how you spend your free time. Watching too much TV,(ie) cheap entertainment! How do you break the slavery of debt and start you way back to the values of our ancestors? Stop watching TV! Why do you think they call it the "boob tube", anyhow? Once you have accepted the fact you are a slave to consumption and have stopped watching TV, maybe then you can do some family things. Remember board games? Remember sitting in the dining room and eating with the whole family? Remember reading books to each other? These things help build value in your children, try it...it really works. Once you see that you have a secure and happy family, you may not be so quick to buy those gifts for them that you buy out of guilt for not spending as much time as you should. Maybe. Now, that you can see why your debt is so large and since you have decided to give up TV. That would be the first bill to get paid off. The charge of the cost of the TV and/or the cable/satellite cost. You might be able to see more clearly at what are necessities and what are luxuries. Or, as others have put it...what are needs and what are wants. You need a pager? You need a cell phone? You need three cars? you need life insurance on you dog? You need a dog? You need a pot to piss in? Its up to you to figure out what your NEEDS are, but you need to figure it out. Everyone needs a minimum of 1) air, 2) water, 3) food, 4) shelter. After that you can subcatagory you other needs. Transportation, clothes, etc. This is all we need, really! But, now we have our wants....ah, that is the area of most concern. That is the area that decides whether we keep up with the Joneses or we just live a simple life, or anywhere in betweeen. That is up to you! But, at least you can see it clearer, now that you have a clear mind free of the list of products scrambling your brain between All In The Family reruns and the 11 o'clock news. From here, the rest is easy. Establish a budget and stick with it. Get out of debt as quickly as possible. Dissolve your chains and finally learn what it is like to be a freeman! End the slavery and you will regain your values as a human being again and maybe the values of a future generation also! Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), August 27, 2001

Answers

Kinda think you're preaching to the choir here, Ernest.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), August 27, 2001.

Well said Earnest, especially the part of do you own your life or does your life own you. It sometimes does get confusing if you aren't paying close attention.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), August 27, 2001.

THANKS Ernest! I think that all of us need reminded sometimes of our goals, our reasons for doing what we are doing, that we aren't crazy for living like we do! Sometimes it gets hard to keep focusing. That is one of the reasons I read the threads posted here as often as I have time. I almost always learn something new, find something to think about, see a different way to look at a problem. Especially since I am going on one of my rare shopping trips today!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), August 27, 2001.

Hello Folks, No, I do not think that I am preaching to the choir. What motivated me to write Perspectives on Wealth was a couple of recent threads here on CS. One was pretaining to the large amounts of money required monthly inorder to make ends meet. The other was one on poor management of a spouse's savings that is leading to a divorce. I do not believe that we as homesteaders have a monopoly frugality or family values. There are quite a few people, homesteaders, urbanites, bedroom ranchers and the like that visit this forum that dream to be the way some of us have become through our alternative lifestyles. They are however mostly drreaming. My attempt in writing Perspectives on Wealth was to wake them from their dream and to help guide them to the reality of their situations. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), August 27, 2001.

God bless you, Ernest! I'm so grateful to find that someone else feels that TV has enslaved 99% of the people.

I believe that in addition to commercials, there are widespread subliminal messages beamed to TV watchers, and this starts from birth! What's the first thing a baby sees when put into the mother's arms? 99 times out of 100, the mother has the TV on in the hospital, and this continues every minute that the child is awake. And the messages sent to the poor child's brain???? You know the rest...

I believe this because every time I've tried to talk to someone about the horrors of modern-day TV, they ALWAYS say, "Oh, there's a lot of good on television......" in a far-off, dreamy kind of way, and they get rather defensive and change the subject. Brainwashed??

I feel VERY, VERY strongly about TV, probably because I was born in 1940, and my parents didn't ever have one while I was home. The first time I saw TV was in a store window and it was showing a boxing match - I'd never before seen two people trying to harm each other and it made me physically and spiritually sick - I will never forget it.

I have no TV in my home, and never, ever will. Thank you for trying to spread the message. Most of the time, I feel like the little boy in the story of the Emperor Who Wore No Clothes.

-- Bonnie (chilton@stateline-isp.com), September 01, 2001.