Greedy Bastards
Most of us live under the assumption that greed is bad. It means that we are unfairly taking excess resources that we don’t need, resources that could instead be given to someone who is in need of them. At the same time, almost everyone still craves excess. We want to have more things, more attention, more power than we could ever possibly need. I think that the key question here would be: is this such a bad thing?
Why is there such a negative connotation when it comes to greed?
When it comes down to it, aren’t we all very much greedy? The only difference is who chooses to act upon that greed and attempt to accumulate more and more. Perhaps our frustration is one sparked through jealousy. We wish we could have the attention and resources that another has received, and this can lead us to be sullen, even hostile toward those who we see as “wealthy”.
Instead of burying our own desire for more and becoming disapproving of those who do not, we should embrace the greed, not just within ourselves, but within the human population.
Greed prompts us to do extraordinary things. It is insatiable, and the hunger for more pushes us to become our best and most capable selves.
Instead of thinking of Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life, whose greed does not recognize the importance of inspiring others to be equally motivated, think of George Bailey, who is has arguably even more ambitious than Mr. Potter because he does not just limit his greed to money. He also exercises “greed” in terms of romance and friendship and reputation.
I believe the issue is that most of us do not want to call ourselves greedy. We would rather use words like, motivated or ambitious. However, I believe that the harsh associations of the word greed are important. We may not want to link this negative word with ourselves, but it is dangerous not to. Bad people do not believe that what they are doing is wrong. It is natural to like ourselves, even to a fault. By addressing and accepting our shortcomings, we attempt to become self-aware of the kind of person we want to be, the ideals that we hope to follow in our lives.
If greediness is our reality, then we must be careful to determine what we want this word to mean in our own lives. We choose to extract the benefits of this mind-set, while aware that we need to avoid turning into someone we would not be proud of.
There are so many things that I am determined to do. They are things that I want for my own selfish gain, yet also things that I hope will brighten the lives of others. Although I want things for myself, I also want others to be happy. The reason is once again a selfish one. Who would I rather spend my time with? Miserable people or happy and contented people? What kind of world would I rather live in? Personally, I choose a world that is innovative, always looking to improve, searching for that mystical ideal of happiness.
Why do I find happiness so important? What about those who would rather live in a world of pain? Is the value placed on happiness simply an artificial social construction?
I don’t know.
Leave a Reply