Week 2
Sense of Self: Prestige and Luxury
“A person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions.”
Old-fashioned values, such as honor, kindness and trust, no longer seem important. Have you notice that?
I have felt that in the present society wherein consumption has been the main organizing element, some people feel that social status and material possessions are the best parameters to judge the people's value. People who have luxurious cars, expensive outfits, big houses, high profile at work or in society, are more worthy than the people who are kind, trustworthy and honest. I believe this trend is going up and though it is not the right way to judge the people.
Firstly, in today's world, people are having more stress and long working hours compared to the previous generation. Everybody wants to be rich and live luxurious life because this give them a high status in society and respect from people. People believe what they see and that makes the show off trend more in demand. For example, if a person drives an expensive car on the road and pass by you while you are walking on the footpath, by seeing him, it definitely gives his rich impression. Same as by seeing big villas or houses, it obviously convince us to think that people living in these houses are more valuable.
Secondly, people who are in high profile also makes us believe that they are more important. Their outfits, their job status, their public appearance also shadow their worthiness.
It is true that nowadays, people's worth is measured by their social status and material possession. People are actually worthy by their values and by their assets. We are putting incorrect parameters for the judgement and we should correct it before our traditional values dies on which society has been built.