"He who dies with the most stuff wins". As I observed this on the Range Rover in front of me at the stoplight, I contemplate why is this self-serving ideology is so prominent today? As Ariana Grande so eloquently states "I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it."
Should success be summed up as simple as "I want it, I got it" or can it be more attributed to the commitment and discipline embraced by the likes of Steve Jobs at work in his garage? Or perhaps Dave Portnoy, creator of Barstool Sports, posing as multiple authors to project a big organization image when he was the sole contributor. At a personal level, every life must and will have an organizing principle. Whether you identify that principle or not, you will have one and it will manifest itself in your actions.
"He who dies with the most stuff wins", on the surface, may seem witty and funny. But it becomes a lot less funny when you realize that for many people this is serious business. Their central mission in life is in fact to acquire stuff, their organizing principle is likely to be self satisfaction.
If a large percentage of our society takes this on as their organizing principle, this has some pretty serious implications on what life will look like in America in the not so distant future. If self satisfaction my overriding mission what might be my priorities?
1) How will I treat my spouse if my organizing principle is a "me first"? Will I ever put their interest first? Will I be there in sickness? Will I be there in poverty? Will I be there when the road gets difficult? I think not.
2) How will I treat my children if my organizing principle is self aggrandizement? The mere act of raising children is in its nature self sacrificing. Will I take the time to teach that kid to ride a bike? Or will I sit on the couch to watch my favorite football team play? Maybe it's more fun to go to the bar with my friends than to read a bed time story to my children. If my organizing principle is self-gratification, a night with my pals wins every time.
3) How will I treat my parents as they age and maybe need my assistance? Will I relegate them to the tender mercies of some government sponsored "life-exit" facility? Or will I bring them into my home and render the same loving care that they provided to me when I was an infant?
To steal a term from Walt Disney, "imagineer" a country devoid of virtue Take a look at much of the country today and you will see materialism's detritus.
A life path of self gratification yields exploding prison populations filled with men who never had a dad in their lives. Roughly 90% of the male prison population never had at home and turned to gangs to fulfill that missing role model. Single parent households will multiply and the family will live in poverty struggling to make ends meet. If self aggrandizement is the organizing principle then one may observe an explosion of white collar crime. "I want it, I got it" as your focus yields and rewards material accomplishments over virtuous behavior.
You'll see an increase in "tent cities" in our large cities. I guarantee you that the inhabitants of these tent cities largely come from families without a dad. And the burden was simply too much for the mom to carry alone, and so many of the children of these broken homes turn to drugs and wind up sleeping on the streets. You'll observe the popular media glorifying the profane, the salacious, and the titillating and minimizing the sacred, the chaste, and the contemplative. Teenage girls will know Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, but not know Virginia Hall, Josephine Baker, or Amelia Earhart. Teenage boys will know running backs and rock stars, but not know Chuck Yeager, Benjamin O. Davis, or Sgt. York.
Starting to connect the dots? On the other hand, "imagineer" a world where the organizing principle is the acquisition of virtue. A world where a man or a woman's central objective is perfect adherence to the an ethical code. In other words, to think and behave with God as your central focus. Such a mindset would eliminate men treating women as objects. It would eliminate children being abandoned by their parents. It would result in a dramatic reduction in the need for prisons and the near elimination of the poverty associated with single motherhood. It would eliminate peep shows, strip shows, sex trafficking of minors and prostitution. It would eliminate pornography in every form.
Can we achieve perfection? Perhaps not, but you can strive toward perfection. If you conduct a daily examination of your actions and conclude that you have moved the needle in a conscientious direction, you have helped society, yourself, your family and others.
At the close of your chapter on earth, your eulogy rarely boasts about your material wealth, your description of assets, or your broken toys. Your choice to live virtuously begins with the sacrifices you make for others, your willingness to help those in need, and how you will be remembered for your upright character and flawless integrity.