Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Into The Void: There's No Need For Greed

with John Miller

We now have television programs being aired based on the desire for huge rewards with little effort. The old something-for-nothing gag.

These programs take us to one of the seven deadly sins GREED and this is wrong. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice not to have to worry about money. It would be great to know this all of month's bills will be paid and there would be something left over to have fun with, make repairs to the home, or possibly put in the bank.

But, let's face it, people, this isn't what happens when someone hits the jackpot, so to speak. The vast majority of lottery winners wind up in serious financial trouble, because they lose their minds and spend like there's no tomorrow.

Only a handful of people can afford to spend in such a manner, but they, too, have problems with money, only in a different manner.

I am reminded of an old Tom T. Hall tune with the chorus being "faster horses, younger women, older whiskey and more money," as the keys to happiness.

Then there's "Key Largo" with Humphrey Bogart's character telling the villain, Edward G. Robinson, the Johnny Rocco's of the world all want more.

This brings us to the questions: Just how much is enough?, and How much do we really need?

Let's take a look around and see what we need, not want. First, we need food and water. Next comes shelter, followed by clothing. These are the fundamental needs of each and every human being, and we don't really need as much of these as we have.

Examining food at the forefront, we, as a people, tend to eat too much, to be gluttons (yes, I'm included). Why do we eat so much? Partially because we get bored easily, and partly because we're lazy.

We go home from work or school, turn on the tube and begin munching on junk, because we don't want to be bothered with anything else. After all, we've had a hard day and deserve this.

However, enough is as good as a feast when it comes to eating. If we quit eating when we sated our hunger instead of stopping when we were stuffed, we'd all feel better and could fit into smaller sizes of clothing.

Speaking of clothing, we need only enough to protect the body from the summer sun and keep it warm during the winter's cold. We do not NEED designer clothing, most of which is ugly anyway. There's no reason to spend excessively to wear something with someone's name on a piece of clothing.

We feel a need to show off, to let our world know we can wear these clothes, even if we can't afford to. But our egos won't allow us to use good sense and buy clothing for function over form and fashion; no, it insists we go with fashion and form over function, or instead of function, because "other people are doing it."

My own belief is when these "designers" start paying me for the free advertising they get when their clothes are worn, I'll start wearing them. In the meantime, don't look for your faithful scribe to be a fashion plate.

Next on the list is shelter. All human beings need protection from the elements not offered solely by clothing. We need a place to go "home" to so we can feel comfortable, safe and warm. A place to be out of the weather, no matter what it happens to be doing outdoors.

We also want to regulate our interior climate, making it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. This is fine, except we tend to take this to the extreme as well.

Please tell me why a couple would need a 40-room house. Entertaining isn't a good enough reason, because no one entertains seven days a week.

Once again, it's ego. We build and buy big houses because we can again not necessarily because we can afford them.

No, because of ego and greed, we want things to be bigger, faster and allegedly better, though the better is often left in the dust. To get these "things", we are very rapidly destroying our world, stripping it of its natural resources, and shortening the span of time we have left.

Think about it how much do we really need?