Watching a news feature about people who lost their homes in the mortgage crisis really got me thinking about American ideals, which still correspond to none other than the good old American Dream. People think a big, new house with a white picket fence is the key to their happiness and this is what we are force-fed on a daily basis by media and advertising. Yet, it is widely accepted that most Americans are not happy.
This particular story was about a single older woman who lost her excessively large house when her interest rate jumped up and doubled her monthly mortgage. It was a sad story, but why did she need that huge house? There are so many empty houses, but people keep expanding, building new neighborhoods. I see this especially in Gainesville. Areas that were green space get developed while old house and business sites are left empty.
Americans need to revamp their way of thinking. Unfortunately, this is impossible to do while maintaining our current system of capitalist expansionism. An economy that is based on expansion discourages any sort of sustainable lifestyle. Where do we go from here?
There is a really great essay on this topic by E.F. Schumacher entitled "Buddhist Economics." Schumacher analyzes the differences in the world-view of Western societies as opposed to the Buddhist world-view, and proposes a change in Western ideals in order to live more sustainable lifestyles.
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