America has traditionally considered itself a land of “improvers”. An individual life was supposed to be one of financial advancement. Society was expected to progress as tinkerers brought forth new technological marvels. “New, improved” replaced “excelsior” as the mantra of the masses .
A core belief has also remained that satiation is impossible. You may get sick of too much ice cream, but never of ever better living conditions. Useful hedonism has no upper limit, and striving for the impossible is one of the things that makes an individual successful and society exceptional .
Okay. All that is hardly in dispute. Yet there seem to be very wealthy people not only sad but increasingly angry. They resent everyone else. They envy everything they do not have. They bitterly curse that they do not have more. They scream at cruel fate which limits them to mortality. They especially whine about social limits .
Perhaps we made a wrong turn somewhere. Technology makes it so easy to concentrate on baubles and gadgets that most of us neglect traditional pleasures. You can’t “improve” a sunset nor the joy of a rose garden (although industrial culture can easily ruin or destroy both). We’ve come to expect that “improving” our minds is only useful if it adds to our income .
I enjoy technology. The only caveat I have is that we may be wealthy already, and we should be properly grateful without always screaming for more.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 