The More You Buy, The More You're Bought

There's a line in It's a Wonderful Life delivered by Harry Bailey, brother to James Stewart's character, George at the end of the movie after George is reunited with the life he chose to pour blood, sweat and tears into, for richer or poorer. The line is: "A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town." Now Harry wasn't talking about material wealth, anyone who's seen the movie would know this statement is in reference to the richness of his life outside of what George Bailey owns; a loving wife and family, a prosperous town and an unflappable character. All of this accomplished by sacrificing young ambition, dreams and at one point a very hefty sum of money from the underhanded Mr. Potter, which in the end, could never have been as sweet as the rich life he created.

This past "Black Friday", a disturbing scene unfolded at a Long Island Wal-mart where a savage crowd could no longer be contained, broke through the glass doors at 5am and trampled 34 year-old employee Jdimytai Damour to death. Consumerism has reached a new low. Have we really gotten to a point where the need to buy a discounted dvd player has made it so we don't even feel someone's warm, crippled body underneath our feet as we flood into the store? Even at a time when our economy is suffering from the biggest house cleaning since the 30's, people still manage to find the time and money to forgo all pleasantries and acceptable human behavior in pursuit of an object that will most likely only provide temporary satisfaction.

Have we forgotten what real satisfaction can be found outside of material possessions? The 50's and 60's taught us "you are what you own", but in all the time since, and even in our current situation, we still have not learned proper restraint. I dare say there are many who lack elemental maturity and self-awareness so much so that they can't see past media definitions of success and possessions have begun to define who they are and the need to own has in fact become a way to be validated. Their self-worth is bought at the Apple Store, Best Buy or Wal-mart rather than being learned from meaningful relationships, necessary failures and great, personal successes. If your buying habits validate your existence, what does it say about you when you have to be the first person in line to purchase at 3:30am the day after giving thanks?

As we all eye our bank accounts during this time of economic turmoil, I think it's time for us all to take an internal inventory as well, to count those non-tangibles that make up our character and focus on that which we have instead of worrying about that which we don't. I hope we all find ourselves rich like George Bailey. I hope even more so that we will learn to lift each other, especially those being trampled on.